The Only Exception
by WakeUpSunshine
Summary: AU AH ExB Bella has been in love with Embry since she was 7. At 18 Bella's pregnant and Embry joins the Army. Four years later Embry's killed in a suicide bombing. What happens three years later when Edward Cullen pops into their lives?
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything. Zero. Anyway, I just want you to know I do plan on finishing my other stories. I will be posting a new chapter for each of them hopefully by tomorrow. This is something i've been working on for the past month. It's fun to write and I have contemplated over and over if I wanted to even post it. I'm going to admit that I know barely anything about the Army. All that I know is what I've heard and read. This is definately Edward/Bella. :) I hope you enjoy!

Prologue

I remember the day all too clearly. It was two days after I graduated High school. I hadn't been feeling well for the past month so I figured it wouldn't hurt to see the doctor. I saw him. Got my news and was set on telling my boyfriend of three years. Sure, what I was going to tell him wasn't in the plan for our future, at least not for another couple of years down the road but I figured we could handle it. I had him meet me at the spot we had had our first date. It was where we sent the other whenever we had something big to tell. Apparently, he had something big to tell me as well, so it worked out just fine.

I remember setting my blanket down on the beach and waiting for him. I remember hearing his motorcycle before I saw him. I turned around and smiled when I saw him hop off the death trap and walk towards me. I suddenly felt all of my love for him rush to the surface. He was beyond perfect in my eyes and I could really never see myself with another man. I remember he smiled back at me before jogging the rest of the way to me.

I hadn't expected for his news to be so earth shattering. I thought maybe he was going to tell me his Uncle came through and was able to get him a summer job. Hell, anything but the four words I got.

_I joined the Army._

In which I reciprocated with two words of my own.

_I'm pregnant._

To say the least, three lives changed that day.

I met Embry Call when I was seven. I had been visiting my Father, Charlie, for the summer. Charlie was best friends with Embry's Uncle Billy Black, who had a son a couple of years younger then us, Jacob. I had just made a mud pie with Jacob when Embry walked up and told me I was a baby for playing with Jacob. I kicked him in the shin that summer and refused to ever speak to him again.

That lasted all of four days. We were forced to play together since Embry was living with Billy and Jacob since his Mom had just up and left him. Embry never knew his Dad so Billy was his only relative.

It was the summer before we turned sixteen when I moved to Forks to live with Charlie for good. That summer I found out that I was madly in love with Embry Call, even if he had been a jerk to me when we were kids. It was that same summer I forgave him for calling me a baby for playing with Jacob. He also ended up apologizing to Jacob since I refused to kiss him until he did.

The summer before we turned seventeen I lost my virginity to Embry. It wasn't a rash decision. It was something we had talked about over and over again. Just to make sure we were both ready.

The summer before we turned eighteen and before we were seniors, I lost my Mom in a plane crash. It wasn't three months into senior year when Charlie died of a heart attack.

I had felt so alone in the months following their deaths but Embry had been right by my side helping me through everything. He was the glue that held me together then and I remember feeling like someone had ripped my heart out and stomped on it when he told me he had joined the army. He was all I had and there he was talking about risking his life, sure he felt it his duty since he found out his Father had fought and his father's father had also fought. It wasn't his duty, and I had made sure I screamed that many times before he left for Basic. His duty was to be in Washington helping me raise our baby.

He would often tell me he didn't make the decision lightly. He'd say that he was thinking about what could be best for our future and he just didn't see himself succeeding in life if he worked at some low paying job in our hometown.

I wouldn't have cared if we were broke and living on the streets, as long as we were doing it together.

I was four months pregnant when he left for training. He had kissed me on the lips and told me loved me more then anything. Then he got down on his knees and kissed my tummy before leaving me standing in his Uncle's yard crying my eyes out.

I had our little boy at the hospital in the Forks, which was the town over from where we lived. Embry hadn't been able to make. I remember laying in bed after Samuel Charles Call was born and screaming for my boyfriend. My heart was breaking with each passing second that he wasn't by my side.

Sammy was five days old when Embry was able to get leave. Embry only stayed a couple of days before he had to be back.

After Basic he was stationed somewhere about ten hours away. I was tied down with Sam, work and school. I couldn't just up and leave. But, I would have if Embry had let me.

Sammy was two when Embry was stationed in Iraq.

He was four when Embry was killed in a suicide bombing.

Chapter 1

I was running late.

Very, very late but waking up Samuel Call was like trying to wake up the dead. It was impossible, or at least that's how I was feeling as I pulled my son's shirt over his head. He was barely awake, but I had somehow managed to get him to open his eyes.

I was used to this, though. I basically dressed him, fed him and made sure his hair was brushed all while he tried waking up. It was normal but I was usually so good with time.

"Sammy, I need you to help me. We're running late." I sighed taking the brush I had stuck on the his bedside table and brushing out his bed head. "Please, Sammy…" I sighed when he just leaned over and pretended to be asleep. I could always tell when he was faking it or not.

"I'll handle this, Bells you go finish getting yourself ready." I was relieved when my son's second cousin offered his help. Most of the time I refused everyone's help with Sammy. I could do it on my own but sometimes I was able to admit my defeat and this morning was one of them. Plus, I knew Sammy would straighten up with Jacob.

I was able to get us out of the house ten minutes later. Sammy had finally opened his eyes all the way and helped Jacob in getting himself ready for the day.

My seven year old son yawned three times in a row before getting out of my car that morning. He was so tired, I knew I shouldn't have let Jacob keep him up late to watch that stupid kung-fu movie.

"Have a good day, Sammy!" I yelled after him.

I spent the next fifteen minutes driving from La Push Elementary to Forks County Hospital where I worked as a Sonogram technician. I enjoyed my job even if some days I wished I would have gone after my dream of being a high school English teacher. I'm still not even sure what made me change my mind while in college. It probably had something to do with my Sammy. Not that I would ever blame him for anything wrong in my life.

I kept to myself at work mostly. I'd been working there for four years and have barely gotten to know any of the doctor's or nurses. I didn't mind though. I wasn't there to get to know people. I was only there to do my job, make my money and get home to my son.

I shifted from one leg to another as I started up the sonogram machine. I looked over at the smiling couple as the woman laid on the bed. This was their first ultrasound, I could tell from how nervous the man looked and how excited the wife seemed.

She had beautiful blonde hair and a very gorgeous face, while the man stood tall and was rather large but seemed like he was a teddy bear type man. I smiled to myself. He was probably one of those overbearing types, the kind that I would have wanted to stab when I was pregnant with Sammy. But, she didn't seem like she cared. She probably liked being fussed over and cared for.

I played this game a lot, guess what the couple is like. I had even gotten a few of the nurses in on it during lunch when I actually talked to them.

It was concluded that this was the first child for the couple and first grandchild for either side of the family. They were excited and they couldn't wait to tell their families about the baby she was carrying. I also found that the man really was overbearing and the woman actually enjoyed every minute of it. They had gotten married just a year ago and had been trying ever since to have a baby. I learned all of this in a total of thirty minutes. The wife, while looking a bit mean, seemed to be very talkative. The tall husband was rather quiet as he smiled over his baby.

They seemed like the perfect couple. The type of couple that I had wanted Embry and I to be while I was pregnant with Sammy. Sure, it was nice not having to share food but I would have loved to have him at every appointment like the man I had just met would be.

I got off of work at 5, there was a wreck just outside of La Push that caused me to wait a little longer to get home to my son. I quickly made a call to Emily Uley telling her why I'd be late. Of course she was okay with it. She and her husband loved having Sammy around. Mostly because he reminded them insanely of Embry. Then there was the fact that they had four girls and no boys.

I smiled thinking about the day I met Emily Young, now Uley. I was fifteen and I had just moved to Forks to live with my Dad permanently. Somehow Embry and Jacob had managed to talk me into going cliff diving over in La Push. I'm still to this day not sure how they managed that. I had always been afraid of heights but when I noticed Emily had come along with Sam and his brother's Jared and Paul.

I had bravely gone over to talk to her. I was ready to have a female friend, I mean I'd spent my entire life practically hanging out with a bunch of guys. I didn't have many friends in Phoenix where I lived with my Mom during the school year. Emily told me how freaked out she was and I told her I was too. That's when we decided to jump together. None of the guys thought we would do it but we grabbed hands and took that fall together. We've been best friends ever since.

I pulled up into the Uley's driveway, which was only four houses down from my house. Sam and Sammy were out front throwing a football back and forth. I smiled at them.

Sammy was named after Sam for plenty of reasons but the biggest was the promise I made him when I was seventeen and he saved my life. I'd gone cliff diving with the guys and had somehow managed to hit my head on a rock. It had knocked me out and I would have drown that day if Sam hadn't jumped in and saved me. I knew Embry would have if he was there but he was working that afternoon. Anyway, that day I promised Sam I'd name my first born after him. He made sure I held through with my promise when Sammy was born. What Sam didn't know was that the promise never left my mind and I was calling my baby Sammy even before I knew what I was having.

"Mom!" My seven year old dropped the football and ran over to me. He started telling me about his day and how he was good for his teachers. Sammy was diagnosed with ADHD last year and often had a hard time paying attention.

"That's good, baby." I told him as I ruffled up his dark hair. My son was truly beautiful, he looked and acted so much like his father.

"Uncle Sam picked me up from school and we went and had ice cream…" I groaned as soon as Sammy said he had ice cream. I tried desperately to keep my son off of medication, but ice cream really didn't help me.

"Hey, you were supposed to keep that a secret." Sam laughed. I narrowed my eyes at him but quickly softened my face. I wasn't angry with Sam. I was sure Sammy probably talked him into it. My little boy was very persuasive. I had learned over the years not to fall for Sammy's ways.

"It's fine. Run inside and get your things. We need to get home so I can start dinner." I crossed my arms over my chest as I spoke to Sammy. Sammy quickly ran inside.

"Embry would have been proud of that kid, Bella." Sam sighed. I nodded. I knew that because even when Embry was living he was proud of Sammy.

"I miss him so much, Sam. It's so hard sometimes…" My voice broke as I spoke. Sam Uley was the only guy I trusted fully outside of Sammy and Jacob. He was also the only guy I really ever told my feelings to. His wife happened to be the only other person I broke down to when I felt things getting too difficult. "Especially with Sammy looking like his clone."

"You're the strongest woman I know, Bells. You've been through so much in your life but somehow you're able to keep going. Everyone admires you for that." Sam wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Sometimes I wish I could just break down, you know? I want to throw things and be angry…but I can't. Not with Sammy."

Sammy chose that moment to run out of the house with his schoolbag and a drawing. Emily was right behind him carrying her youngest daughter, Amelia. I waved to the both of them and noticed two little faces poking out of the house beside Emily. Aubrey and Adrian were a year apart. Aubrey was about three months younger then Sammy. Emily and I have this bet going on that they will one day be together. Right now, Aubrey's in the early stages of boys having cooties, but before that the two of them did everything together. I'm sure we even have pictures of them taking baths together. One day they will really hate us for that. Addison made number three, she had just recently turned three while Amelia just turned one. I couldn't imagine having that many daughters, let alone having that many kids. I am perfectly content with just having my Sammy. He's handful enough.

"Why don't you two stay for dinner? I've made more then enough and I'm sure there will be some left over for Jacob." Emily walked out into the yard. Aubrey and Adrian followed close behind her. Sam walked over and scooped both of them up into his arms causing them both to shriek. "And before you even say it, you know you're not imposing." Emily really knew me all too well.

"Sure, we'll stay." I smiled looking down at a smiling Sammy. I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that he was now missing his two front teeth. Just last week he ran into the counter and knocked them both right out. I was thankful they were just his baby teeth and that they would have fallen out eventually. I wasn't sure if clumsy was something you could inherit from a family member but if it was Sammy sure got that from me.

I followed Emily and Sam inside with Sammy trailing next to me. Emily had prepared chicken parmesan but had cut up pieces of chicken on five separate plates for the kids each with a bit of noodles and sauce, well each aside from Sammy's plate. Sammy hated any sort of marinara sauce. I'm not sure why but I was surprised that Emily remembered.

Eating dinner with the Uley's was always entertaining. It always brought me back to those times when it was just Sam, Emily, Embry and me sitting around the table eating dinner before the kids were born. Emily and Sam had gotten a place together soon after high school. I was already pregnant by this point and Embry was still waiting to go for Basic. Since Emily was three months behind me in the pregnancy department, she wasn't pregnant just yet.

I looked over towards the kids. Sammy was bouncing in his seat unable to keep still long enough to finish his chicken.

"Sammy, baby please stay still." I sighed.

"Sorry." He looked down as he stopped bouncing. Of course he didn't sit still long. I decided to give up and just enjoy Sam and Emily's company.

"He's fine, Bella." Emily promised. I just nodded. "He's a lot like Embry. I don't remember a time when he didn't fidget all through dinner." Emily reminded me. I smiled because she was right. Embry couldn't sit still for the life of him. I'm not even sure how he got through Basic in the Army or even got as far as he did. He had never taken authority or demands too well either. Of course Sammy listened a whole lot better then his Dad ever could.

After dinner I helped Emily in the kitchen. The kids were allowed to watch a little TV before they had to get baths and go to bed. Emily washed the dishes while I dried them.

"So, guess what?" She spoke up in the silent room. I looked over at her with a raise eyebrow. "I'm pregnant again."

I should have known. They had already declared that they were going to keep trying until they produced a boy no matter how many girls they had to go through first. I smiled at Emily then hugged her. She and Sam were really great parent's so I had no doubt in my mind that they couldn't take care of this baby just as much. I congratulated her and then Sam when he came into the room.

"We are really hoping for a boy this time. I love our girls but I don't know if we can handle a sixth one." Sam said sitting down at the breakfast table.

"I'm almost positive that you could." I told him. "But, it would be nice if there was a little boy besides Sammy running around." I chuckled. The front door of Sam and Emily's house opened causing all of us to leave the kitchen to see who it was.

We all went back to the kitchen when we saw that it was only Jacob. He looked extremely tired as he sat down at the table with Sam. I unwrapped his food and put it in the microwave for him. I hadn't expected for him to come by so after dinner I had made him a plate of the leftovers and stuck it in the fridge. I was going to bring it home for him.

"Wash your hands before you eat, Jake." Emily grimaced looking at the 23 year olds hands. They were covered in grease since Jacob worked as a mechanic at Sam's Auto-repair shop.

Jacob groaned then made his way to the sink. I leaned up against the counter to watch him. Jacob Black was my best friend. Besides Emily and Sam of course. But, there was something about him that always put him on top. Maybe because he was blood related to my son. I wasn't sure but I did know that I wouldn't have survived these past seven years without him. Ever since Embry went off to Basic Jacob has stuck by me, hell even before that when we were younger he's always been by my side.

"Long day?" I asked taking his food out of the microwave and setting it in front of him. He took his fork and shoveled a bit in before nodding.

"Long as hell. Quil never showed up and Paul lost his cool with a couple of the customer's. Mrs. River's even showed up and tried to tell me that someone messed with her engine. I'm not even sure what that crazy lady was even talking about." Jacob said then started to eat his dinner.

"I wonder what's going on with Quil. Matter of fact Claire hasn't called me a few days…" Emily pondered. Quil Ateara was married to Emily's cousin Claire. Claire was 8 months pregnant with their first child so Emily had reason enough to worry about her cousin. "I'm going to call her." Emily said then left the kitchen. I went and sat down at the table with the guys.

I sighed as I looked across from me at the empty chair, the chair right in the middle of Jacob and Sam. It was where Embry belonged. He should have been sitting there between us while he scooped his dinner into his face just as Jacob was doing. He should have been coming in from a long day at the shop looking like he hadn't slept in days, but instead the man I loved wasn't sitting there next to his best friends.

"Bella?" Sam's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him and gave him the best smile I possibly could. He reached over and placed his hand on mine. "What's wrong?"

"Just thinking…" I said knowing I didn't have to mention Embry's name. They knew exactly who and what I was thinking about. "It's getting late, I need to get Sammy in the bath and get ready for tomorrow." I sighed taking my hand and standing up. I looked at Jacob who was finishing up his dinner. He quickly ate his last bite then got up. "You go get Sammy and I'll wash this." I said taking his plate then going over to the sink.

"It's going to be okay, Bella." Sam stood next to me as I washed off Jacob's plate.

"Yeah, I know." I whispered nodding. I wasn't so sure about that, though. Everyone kept telling me that it was going to be okay or eventually things would get better but each day seemed harder then the last. Sammy was getting older and growing up without his Father. Nights were the worst. That's when the feeling of being alone sat in. After Sammy was put in bed and Jacob was in his room. "Good night Sam." I hugged him then left the kitchen.

Jacob and Sammy were at the door waiting for me. Emily came from the back of the house to say good bye. Apparently Quil had just been staying home with Claire because she hadn't been feeling well.

"We'll just walk." Jacob said once we were out the house. I sighed nodding as Jacob picked Sammy up. I got into my car and cranked it. Like I said we only live a few houses down from Sam and Emily so it wasn't like I had a long way to drive.

Once inside I started Sammy's bath. He fought me for a few minutes before Jacob stepped in and got him in the bath. After his bath I put him in bed and read him a story. He was fast asleep before I got through the book. I sat it down on his nightstand knowing he would make me finish it tomorrow night.

"Hey." Jacob said softly as I exited Sammy's bedroom. I looked up to find him shirtless and lounging on the couch. I gave him a slight smile before walking over and sitting down next to him. "How was your day?" He asked.

"Alright, nothing special happened." I shrugged. I looked over at Jacob to see him nod then focus his attention completely on the TV.

Jacob moved in with us about a year ago when his Dad got remarried. It had been my idea since he decided to skip college and work for Sam. He's a big help with Sammy and having him around makes me feel a little less alone.

"I'm going to bed." Jacob said a few minutes later. "Night, Bells." He said getting up then giving me a hug.

"Night, Jake." I smiled as he left me alone in the living room.

I retreated to my own room not much later. I crawled into bed and shut my eyes knowing that sleep wouldn't come easy to me.

Just like most nights when I finally did fall asleep I dreamt of Embry. Tonight my dream ended just the same as all of the other's. I had learned to control my screaming over the years. The first few times it happened I had woken up my son, which in turn would frighten him to the point of crying.

The bad thing about waking up in the middle of the night was that once I was awake I couldn't fall back to sleep. So, just like most days I found myself pulling on jogging clothes and shoes. This past year I had taken up jogging to clear my mind. It helped me a lot after my dreams.

I circled the neighborhood before returning back home. Jacob was already awake with my coffee waiting on me.

"Another bad dream?" Jacob asked. I just nodded. He didn't go further.

"I'm going to shower."

By the time I was out of the shower and dressed it was 6 am and time to get Sammy up.

I had been at work for only two hours when Sammy's school called telling me he got into a fight. I just couldn't afford to leave work so I called Jacob and he went to deal with my son. Throughout the entire day I tried to figure out in my head when my son had started fighting. Sammy was a laid back kind of kid. He rarely argued unless it had to do with him getting a bath, but other then that I just couldn't see a reason why Sammy would get into a fight.

After I got off work I walked into my house to find Sammy sitting on the couch with his hands in his lap. The TV wasn't on and he was pouting. I looked around to find Jacob coming out of the kitchen with Sammy's cup. I sighed and put my things down on the coffee table.

"What happened?" I asked squatting in front of my son. Sammy just shrugged not looking at me. I quickly noticed he had a busted lip. I looked up at Jacob hoping he could give me some sort of answer.

"A boy in his class said something and Sammy hit him." Jacob said sitting down.

"What did he say?" I asked Jacob.

"It was about Embry…" He said nervously.

"He said my Daddy died because he didn't love me." Sammy sniffled. "Daddy loved me, didn't he mommy?"

"Oh baby, Daddy loved you very much!" I wrapped my arm around my seven year old. He sobbed into my shoulder. "But you know it's not nice to hit anybody, Sammy."

"I know…but he wouldn't stop." Sammy said pulling away from me. He quickly wiped at his eyes. "I didn't mean to break his nose…" I widened my eyes at looked at Jacob who was chuckling. I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't want Sammy to think it was okay to hit another kid. It just wasn't how I wanted him to solve problems, even if the kid said something bad about his father.

I tried to explain to Sammy why fighting was bad but Jacob really wasn't helping the situation. He just kept laughing and saying the kid deserved it. I ended up telling Sammy he wasn't allowed to watch TV for the rest of the week and sent him to his room. I angrily got up and started to cook dinner. I wasn't angry with my son, not even a tiny bit. I was angry with Jacob. He could have at least left the room if he wasn't going to agree with me.

Half way through cooking Jacob walked in the kitchen to get a drink. I stepped away from the stove and scowled at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked taking a sip of his coke.

"I don't want Sammy to think that what he did was right and with you cheering him on you're really not helping." I told him.

"The kid deserved it, Bella! Hell, I would have been angry if Sammy didn't do something about it."

"I don't want Sammy going around getting into fights just because of something someone said. Sticks and stones, Jacob." I said as I went back to preparing the pasta for the spaghetti.

"It was about Embry…"

"I know that and I'm not saying that what the other kid said was right but as far as I know Sammy should have handled it a different way. Just…either be on my side or don't even bother." I said putting an end to our argument. There really was no argument, Sammy was my son and whatever I said went.

Jacob threw his cup in the sink, his glass cup. Needless to say I ended up having to clean up broken glass. I was fuming by the time I had finished and put dinner on the table. Jacob was acting immature about the whole thing.

Dinner was silent as Sammy squirmed in his seat. Afterward I put him in the bath and made sure his homework was finished.

"Mommy, don't be mad at Jake." Sammy said as I tucked him into bed.

"I'm not, baby." I lied.

"Yes you are. He misses Daddy too." Sammy snuggled up to his pillow. "Do you miss Daddy?"

I bit my lip then told him the truth. "Every single second of every day."

"Oh." He nodded. I quickly picked up his book and finished where I stopped the night before. Sammy wouldn't fall asleep until he heard the end of the story. I kissed his forehead and shut his light off before leaving him.

When I walked into the living room Jacob patted the spot next to him. I reluctantly sat down with a huge sigh.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to get so angry…"

"It's fine." I said knowing his anger really wasn't fine.

"I just miss my cousin and hearing that about Sammy at school…it just pissed me off because I highly doubt the kid said it without hearing it first." Jacob wrapped his muscled arm around my shoulder.

"We know the truth about whatever any one says, Jacob, and that's all that matters. I don't listen to petty town gossip. Even if the kid heard it, he's still Sammy's age and they rarely mean anything they say." I sighed leaning into him.

"I know…I just miss him."

"I miss him too." I sobbed. Jacob and I didn't say anything else, instead we just sat there on the couch until we were both too tired to stay up any longer. I kissed his cheek before walking into my bedroom.

I fought sleep for another hour before finally giving in. The dreams weren't always bad and let me sleep through the entire night instead of waking me up before my body was ready.

I woke up the next morning and started my day just like any other except I didn't have to get Sammy ready. He was suspended from school for a day, which really baffled me. I didn't know elementary school kids could get suspended but apparently the boys fight had been bad enough that they had to use that sort of punishment.

After work I had a conference with Sammy's principle and teacher where they explained to me exactly what happened in class the day before. I was completely taken aback by Sammy's actions, still. It just wasn't like him, this boy must have really gotten under his skin to bring this out in him.

Fifteen minutes into the conference the other boys father showed up. I had to hold back a gasp when I saw him enter the room. He didn't look like any other father I had ever met before. He looked rather young and…beyond handsome. He had piercing green eyes and the strangest color of hair I had ever seen, bronze. He walked into the office and introduced himself quickly before turning to me. He flashed me a smile that I was almost certain could make any woman drop her panties in a second.

"I'm Edward Cullen, you must be Sammy's Mom?" He reached out his hand as he smiled at me again. Yeah, definitely a panty dropper.

"Uh…yeah, Bella Swan." I said shaking his hand. He smiled once more at me before sitting down. Turns out his son, Kye had just overheard his Mom saying something about Embry's death. I bit my lip as Edward went on to say how sorry he was for his son's actions. I ended up apologizing for Sammy acting the way he did.

I felt this strange pull towards Edward Cullen. I hadn't felt like anything like that since Embry.

I left the office feeling stranger then ever. I just shook it off as I got into my car to head home to my son and Jacob.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I walked into my house a little bit later I found it empty. Jacob left a note saying they were over at Sam and Emily's. I quickly changed out of my scrubs and made my way over to their house. I found Sam, Jacob and Sammy sitting in the kitchen while Emily stood at the counter making tea. I hugged her before going over to my son and kissing the top of his head.

"Hey, buddy. How was your day?" I asked him.

"Good." He looked up at me with a smile. I nodded then looked down at the table. They were looking at old pictures. "Hey, guys." I said nodding towards Sam and then Jacob. They both smiled at me. I walked over and sat down in the empty chair picking up a picture. It took everything in me to not cry as I looked at the picture of Embry holding Sammy. Sammy was almost two in this picture. Embry had been on leave and spent two weeks with us before Sammy's second birthday. We celebrated a week early just so Embry could be there for his party.

"Mommy, is this you and Daddy?" Sammy thrust a photo at me. I gave him a weak smile before taking the picture. We were about 16 in this picture. After I had moved to Forks permanently. I looked up at Sammy and nodded. "You were really pretty." He smiled. I raised an eyebrow.

"So, I'm not pretty now?" I joked.

"Of course you are!" My adorable seven year old said quickly. I just laughed.

"Look, Sammy, this was your Dad when he was about your age." Jacob said showing Sammy a picture. "Your Mom here kicked him in the shin for being mean to me." I couldn't help but laugh. A few minutes later I left the boys to their memories and went to talk to Emily. She looked extremely tired as we walked into the living room. The three older girls were playing with their dolls on the floor of the living room while Amelia took a nap in her room.

Emily said that the baby was just taking a lot out of her, even though she wasn't that far along. I just nodded in understanding. Emily always had crazy pregnancies. This one would be no different.

"I have a feeling it's a boy, with the girls I just knew they were girls but this one feels different." She explained. "Sam said not to get my hopes up just yet. We still have fifteen weeks until we find out what we're having." She sighed. "So, how are things going?"

I ended up telling her about Sammy's fight with Kye and about getting angry with Jacob. She just sat there and listened while I talked. I told her about meeting Kye's Dad and how strangely I felt leaving the school after meeting him. I even admitted to having a weird pull towards the stranger.

"Edward Cullen? Wasn't he married to Leah Clearwater?" Emily asked. I just shrugged. "Isn't that Jacob's step-sister?" I widened my eyes when the name clicked in my head. Sue Clearwater married Billy last year. Then I remembered Leah at the wedding with a little boy, Kye. Now that I thought about it he looked a lot like Edward. "Well, isn't this a small world?" She chuckled.

"Really small." I sighed.

A couple of hours later Emily and I started dinner. Sammy had gotten bored with the pictures and had run off to play with the girls leaving Jacob and Sam in the kitchen with us. They both kept showing me pictures while I helped Emily. I had to keep back from crying throughout most of it. I really missed Embry. Sammy missed Embry. Hell, everyone I was close to missed him.

After dinner Jacob and I took a very sleepy Sammy home. I bathed him and put him in bed then went to join Jacob on the couch to watch a movie. I decided to ask him about his step-sister and Edward. He didn't know much. Just that they were no longer married and Edward had full custody of Kye. He had known that the kid Sammy beat up was Kye and that's why it pissed him off because he knew it was Leah that said something about Embry.

I told him that I met Edward at the school when I went to talk to Kye's teacher. He just raised an eyebrow at me and asked how that went.

"Alright." I shrugged.

"Yeah? Is that why you had a smile on your face when you mentioned him?" He asked sounding a bit off but was trying to joke with me.

"Shut up, Jacob." I said playfully slapping him. "I had no smile on my face. And I was just curious about the guy."

"Because you have a thing for him?" Jacob didn't sound like he was joking anymore. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I don't even know the guy!"

"Doesn't matter." He shrugged.

"Jacob, you're crazy." I said to him. I could have sworn I heard him say 'about you.' I was going to ask what he said but he had already gotten up and gone into his room.

I ended up going to my room and getting into bed before I was ready. I tossed and turned the entire night trying to keep away the bad dreams. Instead of the same dream, Edward showed up. He was standing next to Embry in a suit instead of the Army get-up Embry always wore. He walked towards me while Embry went in the other direction into the building. The building blew up but Edward wasn't fazed. He just kept walking towards me. It was the first night I didn't wake up feeling like my heart was being ripped through my chest.

The next morning I tried to figure out what exactly my dream could have meant. I didn't even know this Edward guy. I had met him only once and he was already starring in my dreams. It creeped me out, a lot.

The rest of the week went about the same, until Friday. I got off work early and decided to pick Sammy up from school myself. He was extremely excited to see me standing there waiting for him in front of his school. He ran into my arms. I hugged my boy to me tightly.

"How was school?" I asked taking his book bag.

"It was alright." He shrugged.

"Did you have a good day?" I asked. He just nodded. I took his hand and started walking towards my car.

"Bella?" I quickly turned my head to find Edward Cullen standing there with the same boy I remembered from Billy and Sue's wedding. I looked down at Sammy who was fidgeting then back up at Edward.

"Hello." I smiled at him. He gave me a smile that made me go weak in the knees. I bit my lip wishing he would just go ahead and tell me what he stopped me for. He had shown up in my dreams ever since the day I met him, seeing him in the flesh just made it all the more strange.

"I was thinking that it would be good for the boys to get together and play. Outside of school." He said looking down at his own son.

"Oh. Well…" I started but ended up agreeing. It would be good for them, at least we thought so. The boys didn't seem to like the idea very much. I wanted Sammy to be nice to everyone, even this kid. Even if he did say something bad about Embry. Maybe the boys would actually make up and be friends, Sammy really needed a new friend. He didn't have very many of them.

We set up for Edward and Kye to come by our house Monday afternoon since Leah had Kye for the weekend.

"Mom, I don't like Kye!" Sammy whined when we got into the car.

"Sammy…" I sighed helping him buckle in.

"He's mean!"

"Be nice, Sammy. I'm sure Kye isn't that mean, he's probably really nice if you get to know him." I tried but Sammy wasn't thinking any different of the kid.

I stopped by the grocery store with Sammy before heading home. Emily and Sam brought the girls over for dinner. Jacob came home just before dark but left at 7. Apparently, he had a date. I smiled seeing him dressed up nicely. He deserved a good girl, I only hoped he could find one. He deserved to have someone love him and every amazing thing about him. He didn't seem that excited about the date that his friend Jared had set up for him but I told him that it was worth a shot.

That night I put in a movie and snuggled up to the most amazing boy in my life.

"Bella?" I was being shaken awake by Jacob. When I woke up I noticed that Sammy was no longer laying on the couch with me.

"Where's Sammy?" I asked instinctively.

"I already put him to bed. Come on, your turn." He said but I stopped him before he lifted me like I knew he did my son.

"How was your date?" I asked in a sleep voice.

"Good." He said.

"Did you like her?" I asked.

"Yeah, she was okay." He shrugged. Something seemed off about him.

"Jacob, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm going to bed. Good night, Bells." He said leaving me alone in the living room.

The rest of the weekend was slow and quiet. I spent a lot of my time with Emily and her girls while Sammy spent time doing boy things with Jacob and Sam. I was really happy that Sammy had the two of them in his life, but I knew neither of them compared to if he had Embry in his life. I knew it wasn't my fault about what happened with Embry but I couldn't help but feel terrible for Sammy growing up without him.

Monday afternoon when I got off work I picked Sammy up from Sam and Emily's then went home to tidy up and start dinner. Edward and Kye were going to show up at around 6 and stay for dinner.

I wasn't sure why but I was extremely nervous for their arrival. I was surprised my lip wasn't bleeding from how much I had been biting it.

Jacob's truck pulled into the driveway. I inwardly groaned remembering that I hadn't even told Jacob about the play date. I went outside and stood on my front porch crossing my arms over my chest.

"Hey." He said walking up towards me.

"Hey." I said back giving him a smile. "I forgot to tell you that Edward and his son will be joining us for dinner tonight."

"Oh." He nodded not stopping but instead walking right past me and into the house. I started in behind him. Suddenly he turned around to face me. He looked angry. "It hasn't been long enough, Bella! You can't move on from Embry. There's no fucking way I'm going to let that happen." I widened my eyes. Jacob rarely ever cussed if he knew that Sammy was home.

"I would never…" I started but he cut me off with a shake of his head.

"You're already doing it!" He spat at me then turned back around to walk into the house. I blinked back tears not knowing what to do or say to him. I just let him walk into his room and slam the door.

Jacob was wrong. I wasn't forgetting Embry. There was no way I could ever forget him, Embry was my everything and I still loved him to this day. I knew what Jacob was thinking. He thought I was going to get romantically involved with Edward Cullen. He had never been so far from wrong in his life. I wasn't interested in anything but friendship with Edward. Plus, the only reason we spoke was for the benefit of our boys. They needed to get along. That's it. I wish that Jacob could just understand that.

I took a deep breath and went to walk to the kitchen when there was a knock behind me. I turned around to see a smiling Edward and an angry Kye through the screen door. I put a smile on my hurt face as I went to greet them.

"Hi, guys." I said opening the door for them. "Sammy's in his room. First door on the right through that hall." I told Kye pointing towards the direction of Sammy's room.

"Do I have to?" Kye groaned looking up at his father. The boy had the same skin color as Leah Clearwater but everything else about him screamed Edward Cullen, well aside from his attitude. I expected he got that from Leah because I had only seen nice from Edward. Every time I had ever come in contact with Leah she was rude.

"Be nice, Kyden." Edward spoke sternly.

"Don't call me that, Dad." Kye groaned before stalking off towards Sammy's room.

"He hates his real name. He's the one who insisted we call him Kye." Edward explained his sons behavior.

"Oh." I nodded offering him a smile. I showed Edward into my house. I told him to sit and relax while I finished up dinner but he insisted on helping me. A few minutes into preparing dinner Sammy walked in with Kye behind him.

"Hey baby." I smiled at my son. "What's wrong?" I asked when I noticed he had a frown on his face.

"There's nothing to do." He shrugged. "Kye doesn't want to play with my toys. He said they are for babies."

"Jake's in his room. Why don't you knock on his door and see if he wants to play with the football." I suggested hoping that Jacob would be nice to Sammy and Kye. Sammy shrugged and looked at Kye who just shrugged himself. I smiled when Sammy went to Jacob's room and Kye followed.

Moments later Jacob and the boys went outside to toss the football back and forth.

"So, is he your boyfriend?" Edward asked from next to me. I gave Edward a strange look.

"Of course not." I laughed. "He's my best friend."

"Seems to me like he's in love with you."

"You're kidding me, right?" I let out an uneasy laugh. "Jacob is Embry's cousin and I've known him since I was a baby." I said.

"He gave me this look…"

"You're seeing things." I cut him off. The conversation was just getting a little too strange. Plus, it really was none of Edward's business what Jacob was to me.

We finished up dinner and I called in the boys to eat. Kye seemed extremely excited to be around Jacob. He was talking non-stop. Sammy looked a little down about it.

After dinner we put in a movie for the boys and Edward helped me clean up the kitchen while Jacob left the house. He hadn't said a word to me since Edward and Kye's arrival. It was really getting on my nerves. He had no reason to be jealous or to think that Edward coming over with his son meant anything.

"So, what do you do for a living?" I asked Edward.

"I'm an oncologist. I work at the hospital in Port Angeles with my Dad." He said. I nodded. I could see Edward as a doctor. "You?"

"I'm a sonogram technician. I work at the hospital in Forks." I told him. "Why don't you live in Port Angeles if that's where you work?" I asked knowing that although it wasn't a far drive it was far enough to have to go back and forth from.

"I didn't want to take Kye away from Leah and the place he was born." He told me. That made sense enough.

By the end of the night I noticed the boys were getting along.

"It seems like our plan worked." Edward chuckled nodding towards our sons.

"Seems like it." I smiled. "Sammy doesn't have very many friends so it's nice that he and Kye are getting along."

"It's getting late, we should get going." Edward said suddenly. I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost 10. "This was fun." Edward smile over at me. I just nodded. I suddenly had a feeling that he didn't just want to be friends. I had to say something because his face was suddenly inching towards mine. I put my hand out and stopped him.

"Don't." I whispered stepping back from him. He smelled amazing. He looked amazing. Hell, everything about this guy just screamed amazing but I couldn't think about that. My heart belonged to someone else and even if we didn't get into anything serious I just couldn't betray my heart or the person I gave it to when I was younger. "I'm still in love with Sammy's father."

"Oh." He said looked dejected. "Well, okay." He nodded then walked into the living room where the boys were. I slowly walked in behind him. Kye was passed out next to Sammy who was still looking wide-eyed at the TV. "Good night, Bella." Edward looked back at me then to Sammy. "Night, Sammy." Sammy just waved at Edward.

I walked behind Edward and watched him leave with Kye in his arms. I shut the door and locked it before joining Sammy on the floor.

"What's wrong, Mommy?" He asked reaching out and touching my face. I smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Nothing, baby. It's getting late. Why don't we get you in bed." I said before standing up. After tucking Sammy into bed I went into the living room to straighten up where the boys had created a mess.

I went to bed that night and dreamt of Embry. It was different then the normal one. We were standing on the beach at night holding each other. He was telling me how much he loved me and right before I woke up he said 'it's okay, Bella. I want you to be happy.'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When I woke up I noticed that it was almost 6. I had actually been able to sleep the entire night without waking up feeling panicky. I put on my robe and walked into the living room to find Sammy already awake watching cartoons. I raised an eyebrow at him them found Jacob walking out of the kitchen with Sammy's breakfast.

"What are you two doing up?" I asked running a hand through my knotted hair.

"I woke up early so I figured I'd get the little guy up and ready." Jacob told me. I nodded before telling me son good morning then went to get ready for the day.

Sammy was dressed and ready to go when I walked out of my room. He looked tired as he watched TV.

"Thanks Jake." I said then took Sammy's hand and pulled him from the TV. He protested for a quick minute before grabbing his book bag and walking towards the front door. I followed him but he suddenly stopped then turned back around and made a run for Jacob.

"Forgot to say goodbye!" Sammy said as Jacob caught him and hugged him. I smiled at the both of them. "Love you, Jake." Sammy kissed Jacob's cheek then slid down and ran back towards me. I opened the front door and Sammy stepped in front of me and skipped towards the car. I couldn't help but laugh at his sudden burst of energy.

I dropped Sammy off at school and went about my day as normal. Lunch came around and I noticed that I had a miss call on my cell phone from Jacob's Dad, Billy Black. I quickly hit redial and put the phone up to my ear.

"_Hello_?" Billy answered.

"Hey, Billy. Did you call?" I spoke sitting down outside of the hospital. I wasn't hungry so I decided to just skip lunch and sit outside.

"_I did. Seth's coming into town this weekend with his wife and daughter, so we're inviting everyone over for dinner Saturday night_." I smiled and immediately said Sammy and I would be there. I wouldn't dare miss a night of Sue's homemade cooking. She made some blueberry cobbler that was to die for. I made sure to ask Billy if she would be making it. He chuckled and told me she was making it especially for me. I hung up the phone with a smile on my face.

When Charlie died my senior year of high school Billy stepped in and filled in that father roll for me. He's been a huge help. Sammy and I lived with him for three years before getting our house. Billy is more like a Grandpa to Sammy then a great uncle.

I was extremely excited about Seth visiting. He was Sue's youngest and although I barely knew Leah, Seth was like a little brother to me. He followed the guys around like a lost puppy when we were younger. Five years ago he moved to Montana to go to school where he met the girl of his dreams. Just four months ago they had their first kid. This was the first time he would be back in La Push since then.

After work I went over to Sam and Emily's to pick up Sammy. He was slap worn out and already wanting to sleep. I fed him, bathed him and had him in bed by 7. He didn't protest at all, which was really nice. Jacob came home after Sammy was in bed. He didn't say much as he ate dinner and went to bed himself. I figured I would follow their lead and by 9 o'clock I was passed out.

The rest of the week went by fast. Jacob had been quite distant ever since Edward and Kye had come over Monday night. It was annoying and extremely childish. I just wanted my friend back. Not the moody and pissed off guy that seemed to replace him.

Saturday morning Emily and I took the kids to the beach before heading over to Billy and Sue's for dinner later in the afternoon. Sammy was excited because he knew that his new best friend, Kye, would be there. I had completely forgotten that Kye's Mother was Leah Clearwater until Sammy mentioned Kye being at Billy's. I instantly thought of Edward and how I had turned him down Monday night. I ended up telling Emily about Edward trying to kiss me. She didn't say much, just that I deserved to be happy and if Edward made me happy then I should go for it. Of course I wouldn't take her advice. It just wasn't that simple.

Walking into Billy's house was like walking back into my past. Sure a few things changed when Sue moved in and added her womanly touch but not much other then a few extra things here and there. For the most part it still looked like the same house inside and out. Sammy ran straight to Billy and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you, Grandpa!" My boy told Billy.

"I missed you too, Sammy." Billy chuckled hugging Sammy back. Sammy let go and went off towards the kitchen to find Sue. "Bella." Billy grinned looking at me. I walked over and leaned over to give him a hug. Billy had been a wheelchair for as long as I could remember. "How are you doing?" He asked me as I pulled away and stood up.

"I'm doing good, Billy." I smiled. "How have you been?"

"Better then ever." He smiled widely then greeted Emily and her four daughter's. I walked out of the living room and into the kitchen to find Sammy sitting on the counter next to the sink. Sue was standing on the other side of him rolling out dough. She was explaining to Sammy what she was doing. My son watched on with bright wide eyes.

I decided to leave them alone in the kitchen and went to the living room. Leah had arrived with Kye while I was in the kitchen. She didn't say a word to me as she walked right past me and into the kitchen where her mother and my son were. I couldn't keep the smile off my face when Seth arrived. He sat the baby carrier down and opened his arms. I laughed and ran to hug him.

"Holy crap, Seth you've grown up so much!" I gushed looking him over. Montana did good things for Seth. He no longer looked like the lanky awkward kid that I grew up with. Standing in front of me was a very confident Seth.

Seth laughed and introduced me to his wife, Jane. The blonde woman didn't seem to be too excited to be meeting any of Seth's family. According to Emily she hadn't even wanted to make this trip in the first place but she did it because she knew Seth wanted to. Apparently she didn't like many things in life but she absolutely adored Seth and their daughter.

Sue came out of the kitchen with Sammy trialing behind her. I smiled and picked my son up to introduce him to Seth. Sammy had been two when Seth left La Push.

"Are you sure you had anything to do with this kid?" Seth joked.

"I'm positive." I laughed because he was right, Sammy didn't look much like me at all. Apart from my eyes, Sammy resembled his father so much more. "So, what is your little one's name?" I asked nodding towards Jane who was taking the baby out of the car seat to let Sue hold her.

"Chloe Ann." He said with pride. The baby's skin tone was a lot lighter then Seth's but when you looked at her face you just knew she was Seth's kid. Especially her dark eyes since Jane had light eyes. Sue gushed all over her first granddaughter.

Sammy ran outside to play with Kye while I went back into the kitchen and helped Sue finish up dinner. Leah was catching up with her brother and kept giving me this look…it was rather strange. Sam and Jacob showed up adding their booming voices to the small house. Sue ended up telling them they had to go outside if they were all going to talk so loud. Poor Jane just sat there looking extremely uncomfortable.

"How are you holding up, Bella?" Sue asked me as I chopped up a tomato for the salad.

"Pretty good." I gave her a smile. She just nodded and handed me a cucumber to cut up next. "How are things going with you?"

"Wonderful. I haven't been this happy in years…I've missed my son so much." She smiled. "But, I'm so proud of him. He has a beautiful little family." I nodded in agreement.

We ended up having to eat dinner outside since there was really no room in the house for all of the people to sit around the table. The kids sat around their own little table while the adults sat at a different table. I sat between Jacob and Sam who had Emily on his other side. On the other side of Jacob sat Billy. Funny thing is that Leah sat directly across from me. She kept sneering at me and making rude comments whenever I said something. It utterly confused me. I had barely ever spoken to the woman, she had no reason to be so rude to me. Every time I tried to say something Jacob would stop me. I just wanted to give her a piece of my mind since she was obviously giving me a piece of hers.

"Mommy?" Sammy ran up to me as I was walking into the house to get some more tea. I smiled at him. "Where's Mr. Edward? Isn't he Kye's Daddy?" Sammy wondered.

"I don't know where Mr. Edward is, baby and yes he is Kye's Daddy" I told my son as we stepped into the house. It was a little strange that Sammy was wondering where Edward was.

"Oh, well aren't Daddy's supposed to be with Mommy's?" He asked.

"Not always."

"Daddy's not with you because he's dead but Mr. Edward isn't dead." I put my glass down on the kitchen counter and turned toward Sammy. I crouched down in front of him.

"Sometimes Mommy's and Daddy's don't stay together. Doesn't always have to be because of death." I said a little lost on how to explain it all to him. I didn't want to say the wrong thing or say too much.

"Oh." He nodded like he understood but deep down I could tell he really didn't. I reached out and hugged Sammy to me. I kissed his cheek then released him. He didn't seem to have anymore questions for me as he ran back outside. I stood up and poured myself some tea. I was about to head back outside when Leah walked into the kitchen.

"Excuse me." I said softly trying to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"So, you're dating my ex?" I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face her. "Edward said he and Kye went over to your house for dinner Monday night."

"We set up a play date for the boys because they weren't getting along at school." I told her. "Edward and I are in no way dating."

"That's not how I see it." She planted her hands on her hips.

"Well you must be seeing things." I said trying to past her.

"I'm not going to let you take him or my son away from me." She spoke coldly.

"I have no intentions of taking either of them, Leah. Believe me." I said sincerely finally succeeding in getting past her. I shook my head at the strangeness of that conversation as I sat back down between Jacob and Sam.

"You okay?" Jake asked me. I nodded giving him a smile. "What did Leah say to you?" He asked after glancing towards the house and then at Leah who was now walking back out of the house.

"Nothing." I lied. "You can go back to ignoring me now." I smirked then went back to eating my dinner.

After dinner I helped Sue clean up before saying goodbye to everyone and taking Sammy home. Jacob rode with us since he had come with Sam from the shop. I settled Sammy on the couch with popcorn and a movie before retreating to my bathroom and soaking in my bath. I needed to work out all of the stress that seemed to work through my muscles all week.

When I got out of the bath Sammy was still sitting wide eyed on the couch. He had his stuffed bear in his arms and was leaning up against Jacob. My boy was trying his hardest to fight sleep.

"Hey, baby how about you take a bath before you go to bed." I cooed walking over to him. Sammy shook his head at me but didn't remove his eyes from the movie. Somehow Jacob was able to talk Sammy into getting in the tub. He barely made it through his bath he was so tired. As soon as his little head hit the pillow he was fast asleep.

I leaned up against his door frame and watched my little boy sleep. He was absolutely perfect or at least he was in my eyes. Then again I am probably just a bit biased.

"He's a good kid, Bells." Jacob spoke coming up from behind me. I looked back at him and nodded. He stood next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "I'm sorry about how I've been acting. I don't know what got into me…"

"It's fine, Jake. I forgive you." I said giving him a soft smile. There was no way I could be angry with him. No matter what he said or did. It was just impossible. "I've missed my best friend."

"I've missed mine too." He said his voice faltering a bit. "I'm going out with some of the guys from the shop. I'll be back in a few hours." He said taking his arm back.

"Have fun." I told him.

"You too, Bells." He laughed then walked towards the living room. I watched Sammy until I heard the front door open then close. I closed his door just a bit before going into my room and crawling into my own bed. I had just closed my eyes when my cell phone rang. I sat up in bed and looked at the caller ID.

_Edward Cullen. _

I frowned before flipping the phone open and saying Hello.

"_Did I wake you?" _He asked softly.

"Of course not." I said.

"Good. I was just sitting at home alone and was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie or something…I know it's late but…" I bit my lip before cutting him off and saying a movie would be nice. I wasn't sure why I even agreed. I wasn't even that tired so I got out of bed and took off my nightgown before putting on sweats and t-shirt. I went into the living room and sat down on the couch to waiting for Edward.

I heard his car pull into the driveway and I was at the door before he could knock or ring the door bell. The last thing I needed was for Sammy to wake up and ask questions.

I smiled as I opened the door for Edward. He was dressed in sweats as well. I had only seen him in suits and jeans but this was a nice look for him. I bit my lip making my mind stop from going places it really didn't need to go.

"Hey." He smiled running his hand through his hair.

"Hey, so what movie are we going to be watching?" I asked as I shut the door behind him. Edward handed me over the DVD case without saying a word. I rolled my eyes at the movie title. I already knew it was going to be one of those stupid comedies. I put the movie in then sat down on the couch on the other side as Edward. As far away as possible. I didn't want to be too close to him.

I blinked back the sleep through the first half of the movie. About half way through I felt my eyes shutting and not being able to fight sleep any longer.

"Bella?" I jerked my head up and looked over at Edward through tired eyes. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" I said a little too loudly. I blushed and repeated myself but with a much lower voice. "So, I saw Leah today…" I said not really interested in the movie. He didn't seem to be too interested in it either.

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…She doesn't seem to like me too much." That was an understatement.

"Did she say something to you?" He asked sounding concerned.

"Nothing that I couldn't handle." I bit my lower lip. "I don't mean to sound rude by why did the two of you divorce?" I instantly regretted asking. That was far too personal for me to ask this man who was basically a stranger to me.

When I looked at him I noticed that he didn't seem to be upset about it. Matter of fact he had more of an amused expression on his face then anything.

"Leah and I started out as a fling. We only got married because she was pregnant with Kye and I thought that marrying her was the right thing to do. A few years into our marriage we both realized that it just wasn't working so, she gave me full custody of Kye. Along with not being ready to be married Leah decided she wasn't ready to be a full time mother." He told me. I nodded. It sure didn't seem like she had let go of Edward, though, the way she was acting earlier at dinner.

We spent the rest of the night in a sort of silence that was actually not uncomfortable which really surprised me. Between then and the morning I had fallen asleep with my head in Edward's lap. I'm not even sure how I got there but when I woke up the next morning with Jacob towering over us, I knew that I had made a huge mistake.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jacob was yelling at me. Like he was my husband or father or something other then just my best friend. I was blushing and just sitting there looking stupid. Poor Edward hadn't moved a muscle. He looked like he was still trying to wake up. Even though he had sat up the entire night his hair was a mess like he had slept hard on it. I bit my lip. He was really sexy…

"Chill out, Jacob." Edward gritted out causing me to pull out of my thoughts.

"You don't tell me to chill out in my own house!" Jacob's anger level just kept rising. I yawned and leaned back against the couch. This was ridiculous.

"You're freaking out over nothing, Bella and I are just friends."

"Yeah, because friends fall asleep like that!"

"I fall asleep with my head in your lap plenty of times." I pointed out finally saying something. Jacob whips his head around to me and glares. I look over at Edward and give him a sympathetic look. He didn't deserve to be woken up by a pissed off Jacob. It wasn't his fault. He had just come over to watch a movie, not to be harassed for falling asleep.

It would have been a completely different story if we were in some other position or in my bed. Hell, I would have let Jacob yell at me if we were in my bed. Not that I would ever allow another man in my bed besides Sammy.

SI looked past Jacob to see that had Sammy suddenly appeared in the doorway of the hall. He looked confused standing there in his sponge bob covered pajamas. I couldn't help but crack a smile at the mess that was his hair. I stood up and walked past Jacob to get to my son. I picked him up and hugged him to me tightly.

"Mommy, why is Mr. Edward here?" He asked still sounding sleepy.

I blanked and panicked. I didn't know what to tell him. This wasn't good. This was really bad now that I actually got a chance to think about it.

"Yeah, _Bella _why is Mr. Edward here?" Jacob sneered. I turned around to look at him and sent him a pointed glare. He wasn't helping. Then again of course I couldn't count on Jacob being on my side.

"He came over for breakfast." I finally settled on. I didn't like lying to Sammy but I had gone over in my head different things to tell him and none of them sounded right.

Jacob made a growling sound and stormed out of the house slamming the front door behind him. I winced and held Sammy tighter. Jacob's behavior was unacceptable. I was a grown woman, I could do whatever the hell I wanted to. And Sammy was my son, not Jacob's.

I put Sammy down and grabbed his hand pulling him into the kitchen with me. I sat him at the table with a glass of milk before going back out into the living room where Edward was standing up. I tried to give him a smile and an apology but he just said it was okay and to not worry about it. I then asked him to stay for breakfast hoping he would say yes because I didn't know what I would tell Sammy if he said no.

Edward agreed to stay. So, I sent him to the table with Sammy while I cooked.

I loved cooking breakfast. It was my favorite meal of the entire day. But, for some reason today I just wasn't into it. My mind was going all over the place and I burnt Edward's eggs causing me to chunk them and start all over again. I just couldn't seem to focus. On top of that I was worried about Jacob. Sure, he really pissed me off with the way he overreacted but this side to him was just utterly confusing.

I was finally able to put a decent breakfast on the table.

"Mommy?" Sammy asked after he ate a bite of his pancakes.

"Yes?" I looked over at him.

"Where's Jake?"

"I don't know, Baby." I said frowning a little in thought.

"Mr. Edward?" Sammy then looked over at Edward. Edward looked up at my son. "Where's Kye?"

"With his Mommy." Edward said. I thought that Sammy was done with his questions but he just kept going until I finally had to stop him. Poor Edward was just not getting a break this morning. After breakfast I sent Sammy to his room to get dressed so that I could talk to Edward without interruption.

Edward helped me clear the table before we stood in the kitchen to talk. I bit my lip nervously. I didn't know why I was so nervous.

"Sorry for all of this, Edward." I finally sighed breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Don't be, it's fine." He said running a hand through his already messy hair. "You have two very protective guys in your life." He chuckled.

"I do." I agreed smiling.

"They are very lucky." He leaned up against the counter. "Bella?"

"Yes?" I said nervously. The air in the kitchen was getting thick and scary. I was already having trouble breathing. Edward walked away from the counter towards me. I stepped back until my back hit the counter top on the other side. He was getting too close. I went to hold my hand back but Edward grabbed it and pinned me against the counter. I squeaked at the feeling of him against me.

I shut my eyes and willed away the tears that were threatening to spill. I tried pushing away but he stopped me.

"What are you afraid of?" He asked. I whipped my head up to look him in the eyes.

"I'm not afraid of anything." I said my voice faltering just a little bit but stayed strong none the less.

"You're afraid of me. I can see it." He smirked. I shut my eyes and a couple of tears escaped.

"Please, Edward. Don't do this. I can't do this. I have a son and…Embry…" I whispered opening my eyes again. Edward backed off a little. His hand reached up and cupped my cheek. He sighed in contentment as he just stared at me.

"I have a son as well." He whispered.

"But, I'm still in love with Embry."

"Bella…" He looked away.

"I can't, Edward. I'm sorry." I said finally able to push him off of me completely. I didn't look back as I walked out of the kitchen. I didn't know what was going on but it was really freaking me out. I was shaking as I made it to my bathroom. I sat on the closed toilet and put my head in my hands. I let my tears take over me as I shook.

After crying for a good few minutes I stood up and washed my face, trying to get rid of any sort of evidence that I had a break down. I left the bathroom and went to look for Sammy. He wasn't in his bedroom but he was in the living room on the floor playing with Edward. I stood there watching them.

I had to hold back my tears again as I thought about how Embry should be sitting there with Sammy on the floor. It should have been Embry who I had fallen asleep with the night before. This was wrong. Totally and completely wrong.

I took a deep breath and went to my bedroom to get out of my sweats and into some jeans. After changing I went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. I flipped on the TV hoping it would distract me but of course it didn't. I couldn't help but watch Edward and Sammy play.

"I should really get going. I'm supposed to pick Kye up early from Leah's." Edward said standing up. Sammy frowned and asked if he could go. I quickly said no telling him we had plans, even though we really didn't. Edward looked at me with this sad look on his face as he walked towards the front door. I stood up and followed him. He turned around and looked at me.

"I don't want to replace him, Bella. That's not what I'm doing here." He said looking deep into my eyes.

"Then what are you doing here?" I whispered wishing I could just keep my damn mouth shut.

He looked like he wanted to say something other then what he said. He looked defeated as he spoke.

"I don't know." With that he turned around and left. I stared after him unable to move.

Part of me was glad he didn't say anything else, I wasn't sure if I could stop him any longer.

I went back into the living room with Sammy. He stood up and put away his toys. When he came back into the living room I opened my arms for him. He walked into them and I hugged him to me tightly.

"I love you, Samuel." I whispered kissing his temple.

"Love you too, Mommy." He smiled placing a kiss on my cheek. "What are we doing today?" I had completely forgotten that I told him we had plans for the day, so I took a second to think of something. I finally smiled and settled on taking him to the park and McDonald's for lunch. He seemed to be happy with doing just that.

I invited Emily and the girls to come along but they declined. I had to promise that we would eat dinner with them, though.

It was just nearing dark when Sammy and I made our way over to Sam and Emily's. I sent him into the living with the girls while I went to help Emily with dinner. Sam was sitting at the breakfast table while Emily stood at the counter putting spices on the steak Sam was going to put on the grill outside.

"Hey, Bella." Emily looked up at me with a large grin. I smiled and said Hi back. I said Hi to Sam but he just grunted not looking at me. I frowned and knew that Jacob must have said something to him. I took a deep breath and sat down at the table with him.

"Nothing happened with Edward and me." I told him. Sam looked up at me.

"You fell asleep with him on your couch, Bella." He frowned.

"I know. But, I can promise you, Sam that nothing happened with Edward and nothing is going to happen." I told him truthfully. We were both startled when Emily clanged a pot on the counter.

"I'm tired of you and Jacob acting like this, Sam! Bella is a grown woman and she can do whatever the hell she wants. If she wants to date Edward, then let her and stop making her feel so bad! Just because she's dating doesn't mean she's going to forget Embry." I widened my eyes at Emily. I hadn't been expecting that. Sam hadn't either. "She can't be alone forever."

"She isn't alone, Emily. She has Sammy and Jacob and she has us. That's all she needs."

"You're ridiculous Sam. Think about it, if you died and left me with the girls would you want me to move on and be happy?" She asked. Sam didn't say a word. Instead he stood up and stalked out of the kitchen. Emily looked at me and offered me a slight smile.

"Thank you, Emily." I said standing up.

"I want you to be happy, Bella and if it's Edward who makes you happy then you should go for it. Don't listen to Sam or Jacob, listen to your heart." She said softly.

"My heart tells me that I'm still in love with Embry." I say sadly. "But it also says that I need to let Edward in." I finally admitted.

"Then let him in." Emily made it sound so simple. And sure if you were standing on her side then it probably was but on my side it just wasn't that simple. I had too much to risk.

Sam came back into the kitchen minutes later to get the raw steak. He didn't say a word as he took the steak outside to grill. Sammy had followed him and was sitting in a little chair while Sam grilled. I watched as Sammy asked Sam question after question. Sam didn't mind, he liked answering Sammy's questions.

"Uncle Sam, did my Daddy love my Mommy like you love Aunt Emily?" Sammy's question caught both Sam and I off guard. I tried to stay hidden in the house while I listened but as I heard this question I found my self drifting closer to the back door. Emily seemed to be just as interested in Sam's answer as I was. We both stood there while the silence drifted from outside. I glanced out the door to find that Sam had picked Sammy up and was hugging him tightly. It broke my heart.

"Your Daddy loved her so much, Sammy. Just like he loved you." Sam finally said.

"Then why did Daddy leave us?" Sammy asked as Sam let him go. Sam sat him back in the chair before crouching down in front of him. He took a deep breath before answering Sammy.

Sam told Sammy Embry's reasons for joining the army and how he thought it would just be a good thing for everyone. He told Sammy's things that I still to this day didn't even understand. Sammy just sat there and nodded listening closely to Sam.

"I'm afraid that if I get closer to Edward then Sammy will forget all about Embry." I whispered to Emily who was silently crying. It was my biggest fear, really. Sammy didn't remember Embry, he only knew his Dad through the stories we told him or through the pictures I kept around our house. I had always made it a point to talk about Embry to Sammy but it really wasn't the same as having him around.

"That could never happen, Bella. We would all make sure of that." Emily said putting her hand on my shoulder. I looked over at her.

"I don't want to forget him, either." I said letting the tears go. "I don't want to move on with someone else, Emily. I want to move on with Embry."

"Oh Bella…" She cried pulling me into her arms. "I'm so sorry for all of this." She whispered. Sam walked into the kitchen with Sammy. He sighed and put my son down before taking me and wrapping his arms around me. Out of nowhere I felt my sons little arms wrap around my abdomen. I looked down at see that his little face was buried in my side. I pulled away from Sam and got down on my knees to hug Sammy.

"Don't cry no more, Mommy." He told me. I couldn't stop the tears. I tried desperately to stop crying for my son. Everything was just weighing down on me.

I ended up just going home without eating. I left Sammy with Sam and Emily and crawled into my bed crying myself to sleep.

I woke up the next morning and went into Sammy's room to find it empty. I had completely forgot about leaving him with Sam and Emily. I grabbed some clean clothes for him before walking three houses down to where my son was sleeping. I didn't knock on their door before entering. Sammy as sleeping soundly on a blow up mattress in the middle of their living room floor. It took me a minute to realize that he wasn't alone. Jacob was sprawled out next to him. I wasn't sure how I hadn't seen his large form next to my son's small one.

I bent down and shook Sammy knowing it wasn't going to work. He didn't even budge as I let my hand run through his thick hair. It was the same exact shade as Embry's. A shade that seemed darker then just black.

"Sammy?" I shook him again. Of that that didn't work either so I set out to get him dressed for school while he slept on. He didn't wake up until he was almost fully dressed. His eyes fluttered open and he seemed a bit confused before he recognized me. He had a huge smile on his face as he stopped my from dressing him and hugged me tightly. "Good Morning, baby boy." I whispered.

"Good Morning, Mommy. I missed you." He grinned widely as he pulled away from me.

"Missed you, too Sammy." I said helping him pull up his pants. Emily came down the stairs with Aubrey and Adrian. Aubrey and Sammy were in the same 2nd grade class while Adrian was in the first. While Aubrey looked everything like Emily little Adrian was her Daddy's exact replica. She was the only one out of their daughter's that looked so much like Sam. I joked with him a lot saying he would have been such a cute girl.

Emily made the kids cereal while I went back home to get myself ready for the day. I was going to drive the three of them to school so that Emily didn't have to get out of the house. This pregnancy was taking a lot out of her, a lot more then her previous four had.

I was about to leave my house to go back to the kids when my front door opened and closed. I left my room to find Jacob standing there. I offered him a smile which he didn't return. He just grunted before going to his room. I wondered if he was ever going to speak to me again.

After getting the three kids to school I went to work. I tried to forget about Jacob and everything that was going on in my life but of course I just couldn't. I was distracted with my life the entire day. Good thing I had an easy enough job.

When I got home there was a strange car in my drive way.

_Edward's _car.

I took a deep breath before getting out of my car and walking up to my front porch where he was sitting. I had expected to see Kye with him but he was all alone.

"Hi." I said barely above a whisper.

"I wanted you to know that I'm not going to stop trying." He stood up. I blinked. "I think we would be good together."

"Edward…" I looked away.

"Will you go on a date with me Friday night?"

"I…" I started but he stopped me.

"Please say yes. If you don't like it then I will leave you alone from then on. I promise." I thought it over in my head for a few seconds before finally saying yes. Edward grinned before walking over to me and kissing my cheek. I closed my eyes at the feeling of his gorgeous lips on my cheek. I had to catch my breath as he walked away. I opened my eyes to find that he didn't get in his car. Instead he had gone over my friend's house. He walked out of their house moments later with Kye and Sammy following. Sammy over to me while Edward helped Kye into his car. They both waved good bye before Edward pulled out of my driveway.

"Mommy?" Sammy tugged on my shirt. I looked down nodding. "Mr. Edward really likes you."

"I know." I whispered before steering my son into the house.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm dedicating this chapter to_** dlpash**_. :)

Chapter 5

It was Friday morning when Jacob finally spoke to me. He had made it a point to completely avoid me ever since that morning he found Edward and I asleep on the couch. He wouldn't come home until I was in bed and wouldn't leave his room until I left for work. Sammy was asking so many questions about him, he missed Jake a lot.

"I'm moving out, Bella." He said not letting his eyes meet mine. I furrowed my brow as I washed out Sammy's milk cup. I had just a few minutes before we had to leave.

"You're what?" I said not believing he had just said that.

"It's time for me to go…"

"Like hell it is!" I stepped away from the sink feeling angry. He was so immature, not speaking to me or my son. Now here he was running when things got a little bit tough. I had never known Jacob to be this sort of person. "I've sat around and let you ignore Sammy and me all week, Jacob but I'll be damned if I let you move out."

"I'm not discussing with you. I'll be out by the time you get home." He didn't wait for me to protest again. Instead he walked out of the kitchen and into his room. Sammy walked in after Jacob walked out. He pouted before he asked me why Jake was acting so strange. I didn't know what to tell Sammy. I knew that Jacob's leaving would confuse him even more. Plus, he might be a bit heartbroken that Jacob was moving out.

I dropped Sammy off at his school before making my way to the hospital. I couldn't concentrate the entire day as I thought about Jacob moving out. My date with Edward was all the way to the back of my mind. I hadn't talked to him all week so I wasn't even sure if we were still on for tonight. I really didn't know if I could deal with going on this date with Edward and dealing with Jacob moving out. It was all just making my head spin.

Jacob's truck was gone when I got home that night. His room was completely empty and his key sat on the counter in the kitchen. I bit my bottom lip wishing he would have just talked to me about everything instead of making such a rash decision. I didn't even know where he was moving to or if he'd ever speak to me again.

"Mommy, where's Jake's stuff?" Sammy walked into the kitchen behind me.

"Jacob moved out today, Sammy." I said trying to keep my voice even.

"Why?" He questioned.

"I'm not sure, baby." I sighed looking down at my son.

"Is he coming back?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh." He said looking down at his feet. He quickly turned around and left the room. I was going to follow him when my phone buzzed.

One new message.

_Still on for tonight? - E_

I almost wanted to ask if we could reschedule but I decided against it when Emily walked into the house. She wouldn't be happy with me if I told her I canceled my date with Edward. She seemed more excited about it then I was.

"Hey." Emily offered me a smile. "Ready for your date?"

"Not even a little bit." I said truthfully. "Jacob moved out today."

"I saw." She sat down at the table with her youngest daughter in her lap. It seemed that the other three hadn't come with her.

"He didn't even explain to me, Emily. He just told me he was moving out! I didn't even get to ask him where he was going or anything…"

"Jacob will be fine, Bella. You have no reason to worry about him. He just needs some time right now." I couldn't understand why he needed time. It made no sense to me. "You need to get ready for your date with Edward. Sam and I will watch Sammy all night if you want…"

"That's fine." I nodded absentmindedly.

I went into my room and dug through my closet to find something nice to wear. I wasn't even sure where we were going or what we were doing. I didn't know if I should dress up or dress casual. I finally decided on a knee length blue dress. It was nice enough and I figured it could go either way.

That's when the nerves started to set in. Partly because I hadn't been on a date in years and partly because I was about to go on a date with someone that wasn't Embry.

"Oh Bella, you look great!" Emily gushed when I stepped into the living room. I blushed as I looked down at myself. I just hoped that what I was wearing was good enough.

"You look beautiful, Mommy." Sammy grinned from his spot on the floor. I smiled and thanked him.

I glanced up at the clock and realized it was almost 7. Edward would be picking me up shortly. I went into Sammy's room and packed him an overnight bag, making sure that his favorite blanket was packed along with his other things. I knew he was only a couple of houses down but I knew how Sammy got if he didn't have his blanket when he went to sleep.

By the time I had his bag together and had given him a kiss, Edward showed up. I bit my lip nervously casting a glance to Emily who was grinning widely. Her little girl was sleeping soundly unaware that her mother was practically bouncing. I went towards the door but Sammy had beat me to it.

"Where's Kye?" Sammy asked suddenly.

"Samuel, use your manners." I frowned at him. Sammy sighed.

"Hello, Mr. Edward." He looked up at me. I smiled. "Where's Kye?" I couldn't help but laugh at my kid.

"He's at his Mom's for the weekend." Edward told Kye. I didn't catch a good look at Edward until he stepped into my house. I gasped. He was wearing a nice dark green dress shit and jeans. I bit my lower lip letting my eyes rake over his, what I assumed, perfect body. "Wow." He breathed pulling me out of my thoughts. I smiled at him shyly.

"I wanted to stay with Kye tonight…" Sammy pouted.

"I can call his Mommy and ask if you want." I widened my eyes. Then quirked an eyebrow as he pulled out his cell phone to call Leah. I didn't mind if Sammy went to stay with them I just didn't want to cause any problems with her. I wasn't even sure if she knew we were about to go on a date. I figured she wouldn't be too happy about that.

Edward walked back outside to call Leah. I looked back at Emily who was standing up waiting to hear if she would be taking Sammy home with her or not. I looked down at her sleeping daughter, Amelia. I missed when Sammy was a year old and would fall asleep like that. He still liked me to hold him while he was sleeping but he sure didn't pass out anywhere anymore. Part of me wanted another baby. A little girl. When I was pregnant with Sammy I swore up and down that I was having a little girl, of course I was wrong, but in my dreams I could see what she would look like. The little girl looked a lot more like me then Sammy does. She had my pale skin and dark hair but Embry's nose and mouth. I quickly shook my head hoping to clear those thoughts away. I couldn't think about Embry right now.

Edward returned with a smile on his face. He pocket his phone and looked down at Sammy then back up at me.

"Leah said she doesn't mind. Kye was asking if Sammy could stay anyway." Edward clapped his hands together.

"Alright. Thank you anyway, Em." I smiled at my best friend.

"No problem, Bella. Have fun." She kissed my cheek then kissed and hugged Sammy. We got Sammy into Edward's car not long after. Edward kept glancing over at me with a smirk playing on his perfectly plump lips. His green eyes literally sparkled every time he looked at me.

When we got to Leah's house, which was really not that far from my own, Edward got out with Sammy. I sat in the car and watched as Edward held Sammy's hand up to the door. My stomach dropped at the sight. Apart from the fact that Sammy was much darker then Edward, they looked like father and son. I shut my eyes and willed away the tears that were already threatening to escape. I was really starting to get tired of this crying phase I was going through. I hadn't cried that much in years.

When I opened my eyes Sammy turned around at the door and waved to me. I blew him a kiss and waved back. I saw Leah standing there with her arms crossed and scowl on her face. She was glaring daggers at Edward. Poor guy. Sammy went into the house and Leah quickly shut the door in Edward's face. I started to wonder if leaving Sammy was really a good idea. She didn't seem to like me too much.

I decided to just relax when Edward got back in the car. I knew he would be fine. Leah couldn't be that terrible of a person. She seemed really good with her own son.

Butterflies flew around my stomach as Edward put the car in reverse and back out of Leah's driveway. I glanced over at him then back in front of me.

"So, where are we going to?" I asked skeptically.

"I figured we would do the cliché date, you know?" He smiled over me. "Dinner and a movie sound good to you?"

"Perfect." I nodded. Simple. I liked it. I didn't need some big grand gesture type date. I wasn't that sort of girl and I never had been.

As Edward drove towards Port Angeles he started a game of asking me questions. He started out with small mundane ones then he got to the questions about Sammy and Embry.

"How long had you been with Embry before…?" He asked in a low voice. I took a shaky breath before running my hand through my hair.

"We started dating when we were sixteen so, about seven years." I said trying not to cry, again. This emotional shit was for the birds. But, he was talking about Embry…and there was no way that I would be able to stop from crying when it came to that subject. I just…really missed him.

"Oh." He nodded.

"Ok, my turn." I perked up and decided to ask him most of the same questions he asked me. We were at the restaurant by the time I got to my tenth or so questions. Edward quickly went around to my side I opened the door for me. I couldn't help the smile that graced my lips as he helped me out of the car.

We were at this small Italian place. It was rather intimate.

We ordered out drinks and food before I got started on my questions again. Edward seemed to answer everything I asked without a second thought.

"How long were you and Leah together?"

"Three years." He said taking a sip of his water. I nodded.

"So, you were only together because of Kye?" I asked.

"At first, yeah. Leah can be a bitch at times but she's really great if you get to know her. Of course, after a few years of marriage we realized that neither of us were into it anymore. We were never in love, but I did love her. Still do, she's my son's Mother." He told me.

"I understand. I doubt I could ever stop loving Embry." After I said that the mood seemed to shift. Edward just nodded then looked away and didn't say another word until our food was in front of us. I bit my into my ravioli and moaned. It tasted like heaven. I looked up as Edward chuckled at me.

"That noise could get you into a lot of trouble." His eyes seemed to dark as he spoke. I widened my eyes at how much him just saying that turned me on. I mentally slapped myself even thinking or feeling like that.

After that the mood went back to normal and I actually enjoyed myself as I laughed and talked freely to Edward. I had to admit that I was really happy I didn't cancel on him.

We went to movies after dinner. Edward led me towards our seats with his hand resting on the small of my back. I couldn't help the shiver that went through my body at his touch. I hadn't felt anything remotely like that in years. Embry died six months after Sammy and I had seen him for the last time. So, it's been around 4 years since I that feeling was provoked in my body.

Edward reached for my hand halfway through the movie. I was about to pull mine away but when his thumb started making lazy circles on my hand, I just couldn't. I looked over at Edward who was smiling at me. I smiled back then returned my attention to the large movie screen.

"So, is there anything else you'd like to do tonight?" Edward asked as we walked towards his Volvo. I just shrugged looking at our hands that were still together.

"We can go to my house…if you want?" I asked nervously. I wasn't sure what else to do but I did know I wasn't ready to part with Edward for the night. Edward smiled at me and agreed. "Not for…" I blushed.

"No, of course not!" He assured me. I nodded and opened the passenger side door for myself before he could. I got into the car and let him close my door behind me. He got into the driver's side, I expected him to grab my hand again but he didn't. I was rather surprised when I realized I missed the warmth of his hand already.

When we got to my house, it felt rather empty. My house just didn't feel the same without my son or Jake. I sighed loudly as I slipped my flats off my feet. Edward followed me and took his own shoes off and left them by my front door.

"I'm going to change into some sweats or something…" I said pointing towards my room. Edward nodded and went over to my couch. I pulled out my phone as soon as I was in my room.

_Date was great, thanks for talking me into it. Love ya, Em. - B_

I quickly sent the text to Emily and sat my phone on my nightstand then pulled my dress over my head. I dressed into sweats and a form fitting t-shirt before joining Edward in the living room. He was lounging on my sofa already flipping through channels on the TV. He looked like he belonged there, which I knew was crazy thinking on my part. I walked over and sat down on the other side. I smiled then grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. I was skeptical at being so close to him. I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Is it weird that I miss the boys?" I asked looking down at the floor where Sammy spent a lot of his time with his toys or watching TV.

"No, I miss Kye every time he's at Leah's. I'm so used to having him around that it's strange doing things without him." He told me.

"Sammy is my life and without him around, I honestly feel lost." I said truthfully.

"I have an idea." Edward said and I looked up at him. "How about our next date we take the boys with us? Include them…"

"Next date?" I squeaked. I hadn't agreed to that. Just one. This was it. But, then again I was having fun with Edward and going on another date didn't make me cringe…maybe that would be okay. We would have the boys with us, so it couldn't be too bad.

"Well, I just thought…" Edward trailed off nervously. I laughed. "It will have to be on a weekday. Leah only gets to see Kye on weekends and I really don't like keeping him away from her."

"That's fine." I nodded in agreement. I looked over at the front door. For some reason I was expecting to see Jacob walk in. "Jacob moved out today." I confessed to Edward.

"Did he?" He asked. "For what?"

"I have no idea." I told him.

"Oh." He nodded like he understood. I really wished people would just inform me since everyone else seemed to understand Jacob's reaction.

I decided that I didn't want to talk about Jacob anymore. It made me extremely upset. He was my rock, the person I could depend my entire life on.

"It's getting late…" Edward whispered after an hour of watching mindless TV. I couldn't believe that just sitting there doing something as simple as watching TV with him was actually a good time. He was a great guy and seemed to genuinely care.

I just hoped that whatever was happening between us was worth it. Even though I had absolutely no idea what was happening between us.

Edward left not longer after. He seemed like he wanted to kiss me before he left but settled with a kiss on my cheek. I was happy and okay with that. I didn't want to go too fast. I was scared enough about this as it was. Kissing him would have probably sent my brain into overdrive with worry.

As I shut the door behind him I couldn't help the feeling of being extremely alone. Sammy rarely spent the night anywhere and if he did it was usually with Sam and Emily, not with a friend. I walked into Jacob's room and sat down on his empty bed. Every trace of him was gone from the room. He even took down the many picture's Sammy drew for him.

I left Jacob's room before I broke down again. I pulled off my clothes and climbed into bed. I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It was half an hour until April 25th. Which happened to be the night almost eight years ago that Sammy was conceived. He was born January 4th.

I had a new message from Emily.

_Good! Call me tomorrow and we can take the kids to the park and talk - Em_

I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face and a voicemail from Sammy. I quickly got dressed and in my car. I realized it was almost noon when I looked at the clock in the car. I ran a hand through my hair as I pulled into Leah's driveway. I had to take a couple deep breaths before getting out of the car and knock on Leah's door.

I expected to be greeted by her but instead Sammy answered the door.

"Hey, sweetie." I smiled instantly hugging him. He hugged back telling me hi. He went to get his things as I searched for Leah. I wanted to make sure Sammy was good for her.

"You have an amazing son, Bella." Leah startled me. I turned to see her in the doorway of what looked like a hall.

"Thank you." I smiled. "So, I take it he was good?"

"An angel." She replied. I was confused at how nice she was acting towards me when just the weekend before she was extremely bitter and bitchy.

"Thank you, Leah." I nodded towards her as Sammy came back into the room with his stuff. I grabbed his bag from him and made him thank Leah for allowing him to spend the night. He said goodbye to Kye quickly before leading the way out of the house.

Sammy spent the entire drive home talking. He wouldn't stop, even after we got into the house. I wasn't even sure what he was saying half of the time. He just kept going. He did this sometimes, so it really wasn't anything new to me.

It was almost two when Emily and I packed the kids up to take them to the park. We had to use separate cars to fit all five of them. They had a van but it was in the shop so Leah was stuck using her smaller car. Audrey and Sammy rode with me while Emily took her three younger daughters. Sam had hugged me before we left saying he wasn't angry with me for wanting to move on, he just didn't want me to forget about Embry or how much we cared for each other. I told him that could never happen. Plus, I didn't even know if whatever was going on with Edward would get serious. I didn't want to worry anyone just yet.

At the park the older kids ran towards the jungle gym while Emily and I took Amelia to the baby swings. She seemed rather excited to swing. I couldn't help but laugh at how excited she was.

"So, spill." And that's exactly what I did. I told Emily about the entire date with Edward and how we were even going on another date but this time with the boys. She had hugged me and told me how happy she was that I was trying to move on with my life. She just wanted me happy.

We ordered pizza before we left the park and I stopped to pick it up before heading to Emily's. Sam was already sitting at the dinner table waiting on us. He seemed hungry as he dug into the first pizza he could get his hands on. I couldn't help but laugh as I pulled out Sammy's special pizza. Cheese and pepperoni only, no sauce.

I laughed as Sammy took a bite of his pizza just as eagerly as his Uncle had. We were in the middle of dinner when Jacob called Sam. Sam's eyes had darted towards me before he left the room to talk to him. I sighed and looked at Emily who just shrugged. I needed to talk to Jacob. I needed to get things right between us again, I missed him and I knew Sammy was already missing him as well. He was a part of our family.

Sam sat back down a few minutes later with a frown on his face. He didn't meet my eyes the rest of dinner. Afterwards I was helping Emily clean up when he asked to talk to me. I followed him out the back door and into the backyard. I sat down at the picnic table they had on the patio.

"What's up?" I asked as Sam sat across from me.

"That was Jacob."

"And?" I asked rolling my eyes. I knew who it was, I wasn't dumb.

"I want to know what happened, Bella."

"With what?" I was confused.

"Why did he move out?"

"He didn't tell you?" I asked and Sam shook his head. "He didn't tell me. He just said it was time. Do you know where he went?"

"Yes, but I think you should wait for him to tell you that." Sam sighed putting his head in his hands.

"I know that Jacob was Embry's cousin but do I not deserve to move on? I will always love Embry and I can promise you and everyone else that I will never forget about him. Sammy will always know who his father is and I will never let him forget that…"

"I know that." He sighed.

"Ok." I nodded.

"Embry would have wanted you to move on, honestly. He would have wanted to see you happy." Which sounded a lot like what his wife had told me at the park earlier.

I wish I had actually known what Embry had wanted. We never talked about what would happen if he were killed. We always thought we would never have to worry about that. We thought he'd serve his time then come home to his family. We would get married and then after a few years we would have had another kid and maybe even a third. Embry wanted a big family but I wasn't sure if I wanted to pop more then three out. But, knowing me I would have done whatever Embry wanted.

That night as I was tucking Sammy into bed he told me about how he wanted to go visit his Daddy the next day. I smiled at my son and kissed his cheek. He was absolutely amazing and I couldn't believe I had such a good kid.

So, that Sunday Sammy and I started our day out later then usual. I made a big breakfast and brought over some to Sam and Emily's before taking Sammy to the cemetery where Embry's body lay. They had been able to locate his body after the bombing and send it back over to the States. If I hadn't seen his burned body for myself I probably wouldn't have believed it. I still couldn't get that image out of my mind when I confirmed that it was indeed the love of my life. I was honestly surprised that I could still make out his face.

We brought flowers to Embry's grave. Sammy had even drawn Embry a picture of the sky. Sammy placed the picture and flower's by Embry's tomb stone. I shivered thinking that the man I loved was laying in a box six feet under while we sat there mourning his death still. I crouched down to be on my sons level.

"I miss him, Mommy." Sammy hugged me.

"I miss him too, baby." I sighed.

"Did Daddy like baseball?" It was a random question but I nodded. Embry had loved sports. Any kind, really. He was especially good at football. "Did he play?"

That began the start of my sons constant questioning. He wanted to know so many things about his dad, I didn't hesitate to answer each question. I liked that he acknowledged Embry constantly.

We left the cemetery and I took Sammy over to the only diner in all of La Push. Our town was extremely small. Even smaller then the town next to us, Forks. The closest we came to city around our parts was Port Angeles and that was almost an hour drive.

The waitress smiled at Sammy and I. We were regulars so all she had to ask is if we wanted our usual. Sammy had added a milkshake to his burger and fries while I decided to just go with my usual sweet tea.

"Can we go see Jake now?" Sammy asked as I paid for our meal. I frowned knowing I had no idea where Jake was even at. I took out my phone as we walked towards the car and called Jacob. He didn't answer so I left a voicemail telling him Sammy missed him and wanted to see him. I just hoped he wouldn't shut my son out, Sammy adored Jacob to no end.

When we got home Edward called and we talked on the phone until it was time to go over to Sam and Emily's for dinner and to watch a movie with the kids. I realized that I actually liked talking to Edward. He was easy to talk to and extremely nice. I must admit he is a pretty amazing guy. We decided on Wednesday to take the boys out to see a movie of their choice and to eat at the diner for dinner. Before we went to Sam and Emily's I told Sammy about it. He smiled and hugged me saying he couldn't wait. It really surprised me how excited Sammy was about Edward entering out lives. I thought maybe he'd be a little apprehensive but he wasn't even a little bit.

I kept glancing at my cell phone all night hoping that I wouldn't miss Jacob's call. Or at least hoping he would attempt to call me back. At least he could call for Sammy. He didn't even have to talk to me.

After dinner that consisted of the probably the best green bean casserole Emily had ever prepared, we went into the living room and settled down with the kids to watch a movie. I sat with Sammy tucked into my side and him clutching at his blanket. He was already dressed for bed because I knew he would probably fall asleep during the movie. Amelia was the first to fall asleep. Sam had taken her upstairs and when he came back down Addison was passed out. He laughed and hauled her upstairs next. Sammy fell asleep after the two of them but Aubrey and Adrian kept awake through the entire movie. They were still trying to stay awake once the movie was over and Emily told them it was time for bed.

Sam ended up helping me get Sammy home. He put him bed and hugged me before leaving us alone. I kissed my sons forehead then went into my own room to go to sleep as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry that this chapter is much shorter then the previous ones...I have a reason for ending it where I did. Since, Bella probably won't be able to give what Edward does for her and her son justice...considering her state at the end of this chapter. Anyone ready for epov next chapter? I know I am. :) Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Monday afternoon, Emily dropped by my work for lunch without any of her kids. It was strange seeing her alone but apparently Sam was taking the day off to give her some time alone. Plus, she had an ultrasound scheduled with me at 1. Sam would usually join her but Emily insisted that it would be like all the others before. Nothing would be different. Then again I loved getting to see my best friends baby up close before anybody else did.

"So, how are you feeling?" I asked Emily as she picked at her salad. She pushed it aside and grabbed the chocolate pudding and dug in. I couldn't help but laugh. The only time she really ate anything sweet was if she was pregnant. Otherwise, she would much rather her salad.

"Tired." She shrugged.

"That was the only downside of being pregnant with Sammy." I sighed taking a sip of my water.

"That's why I keep thinking it's a boy. I'm barely a couple months pregnant, with the girls I was around six or seven months when I started to feel this tired." She explained. I just smiled. "So, have you heard from Edward?"

"I talked to him yesterday on the phone for a little bit but not since then." I said feeling a blush rise on my cheeks. I wasn't even sure what I had to be embarrassed about.

"But you plan on going out with him again?" She asked.

"Wednesday we're taking the boys to see a movie and get some dinner." I shrugged like it was no big deal. "The boys are friends and Edward's a pretty decent guy…"

"But?" She raised an eyebrow.

"He's not Embry." I whispered.

"Bella…" She sighed shaking her head.

"I know it's silly, but I still love him. I don't think I'll ever stop loving him, Emily, so how can I get involved with another guy when I'm still in love with Embry?" I asked rushing my words.

"No one expects you to stop loving Embry, Bells. I'm sure Edward even understands…" She said but I interrupted her saying we needed to go do her ultrasound. She had frowned at me but agreed because I knew she was excited about seeing her baby.

I was happy that I had the ultrasound excuse to divert our conversation. I knew what she was saying and I knew she was right but deep down I just couldn't understand any of it. I didn't think I had it in me to still in love with Embry and date Edward at the same time. I couldn't move on. I didn't want to.

Emily had a bright smile on her face as I rolled the wand over her slightly round belly. The baby had one of the strongest heartbeats I had heard in awhile.

"He's a strong one, isn't he?" Emily beamed.

"He sure is." I agreed as I took the pictures of her baby. "I'm sure we can figure out what you're having in about ten weeks." I estimated. Emily just nodded not taking her eyes off the screen.

That night after I tucked Sammy into bed I went into the hall closet and pulled out the picture box. It's where I kept most of the pictures of Embry and Sammy's baby years. After Emily had left the hospital I had gotten to thinking about seeing Sammy for the first time. Embry had been able to go with me since he hadn't left for Basic just yet, it was probably the most bittersweet moment of our lives. Seeing our baby and knowing that everything was going to change for us.

I went through the box of pictures quickly trying to find Sammy's sonogram. It was buried deep but when I pulled it out I couldn't stop the tears. One time my little boy was just a tiny fetus inside my tummy. Now he's this amazing dark haired kid that I wouldn't trade the world for.

I put the picture down before picking up the very first picture of Embry and Sammy. Embry was so scared of holding our son and you could see it all over his face in the picture. Poor guy didn't even know how to hold him correctly. The next picture was where I was sitting next to him showing him how to hold Sammy. I had the biggest smile on my face. I looked extremely happy, but I looked exhausted at the same time. Sammy and I were living with Billy and Jacob at the time, but I was still pretty much on my own with Sammy. I didn't mind of course, I would do it all over again not changing a thing.

The box was littered with so many pictures of Sammy's first days. We took like five rolls of film just in the those couple of weeks Embry was able to visit. Then after he left I had to promise to take pictures of every little thing our son did. I didn't disappoint, of course.

I took a deep breath before replacing the top on the box and storing it back in it's place. I had looked at enough memories for the night.

I sat down on the couch and pulled out my cell phone. Edward had sent me a message.

_Still up? - E_

Instead of texting him I decided to call him. He seemed surprised to hear my voice.

"_Have you been crying?" _He asked.

"I was just looking at Sammy's baby pictures…" I said trying to get my voice back to normal. "So, how was your day?" I had to quickly change the subject. I liked Edward but I didn't want to tell him more then he really needed to know.

"_Alright, Kye isn't feeling too good. He doesn't have a fever but I think he might be getting a cold." _

"I hope he feels better." I said biting my lower lip. I knew that if Kye was getting sick then most likely Sammy would be too.

We didn't really talk about much else. Just that he would keep me informed in case Kye got worse and we had to cancel our date Wednesday. I got a strange upset feeling when he mentioned we might have to cancel.

After getting off the phone with Edward I went straight to bed.

I woke up the next morning by a text from Edward saying Kye had a fever and to tell Sammy he wouldn't be at school today. I expected to go into Sammy's room to find him sleeping but he was sitting up against his head board sniffling. I frowned as I rushed towards him. His little body was on fire.

"Oh Sammy." I said kissing his forehead. "We're staying home today." I sighed before going into the kitchen and getting him some water. I called into work then called Edward saying Sammy was sick as well. After I got off the phone with Edward I put Sammy in my bed and that's where we stayed most of the day. I ended up taking him to the doctor later in the afternoon. He had the early signs of the flu. I hoped that if we started the antibiotics early he wouldn't get the worst part.

When we got home I realized that I had left Sammy's ultrasound pictures out of the box. So, after giving him his antibiotics and trying to feed him some soup I decided to show him how tiny he used to be.

"That's not me." He frowned sniffling then started coughing. I held him close to me trying to soothe him.

"That is you, baby." I smiled after he had calmed down. "That's when you were in my tummy."

"Oh." He said then laid back and before I knew it Sammy was fast asleep. I sighed then snuggled up next to him. I didn't care if he was contagious, it made me feel better if I held him while he slept. That way I could keep an extra eye on him. I knew that I sheltered my son a lot more then I should but he was my baby, he was all I had left of his Daddy. Jacob said I babied him far too much, we had a huge fight over that for a couple of days. I hated how Jacob was always trying to step in to be Sammy's father, he wasn't and he never would be.

I grabbed my phone and texted Edward asking him how Kye was doing. Then I sent a quick text to Emily asking if she could possibly bring me over some dinner.

A few minutes later there was a knock on my front door. I opened the door to find Sam standing there with a face mask on and bag in his hand. I couldn't help but laugh at the tall man.

"We can not afford to get sick." He said thrusting the bag at me. I smiled and took it from him.

"Thank you. Make sure to tell Emily thanks." I smiled.

"Of course. Tell Sammy that his Uncle Sam needs him to get better." Sam nodded then turned around and walked towards his house. I let out another laugh thinking about how he looked. I walked into the kitchen opening the bag. Fried chicken. It smelled heavenly. Emily had also sent over some green beans and mashed potatoes.

I ate alone in my kitchen while Sammy slept off his fever. I always hated when he was sick, always made me feel like I did something wrong. I knew it was normal for kids to get sick, there was probably something going around at school that the boys caught.

After dinner I checked on Sammy before taking a shower. Edward called after I was out. He told me that Kye had the same thing as Sammy but Edward's Mom had been watching Kye so Edward didn't have to miss out on work. I just hoped he was better the next day so I could get back to work. I hated missing too many days. But, I knew that I would stay home for my little boy.

Since the boys were both sick we decided to just reschedule our date for another time. I was a little upset but I understood completely. Sammy always came first in my life. I would much rather stay home with my baby boy then go out to some noisy restaurant anyway.

As I settled in for the night I checked my phone one last time. I had a new message from an unknown number.

_I miss you guys _

I bit my bottom lip trying to figure out who it could possibly be so I texted back to ask who it was. Jacob. I was far too upset with how he was acting lately to even reply, so I turned my phone off and crawled into bed with Sammy.

I woke up the next morning feeling just as crappy as I knew my son had been feeling the day before. I could barely open my eyes as the light streamed through my window. I noticed that Sammy was still sleeping. I didn't even know what time it was but I knew I had to call into work. There was no way I could show up feeling as bad as I did. Plus, I was pretty sure Sammy was still feeling crummy.

It was almost 2 in the afternoon when Edward called me. He had been texting me all day but I hadn't had the strength to answer. I barely had the strength to even care for my son.

"_Kye's staying with Leah the rest of the week. So how about I come over and take care of you two tonight?" _I didn't have the heart to say no to him. Then again I didn't mind the thought of Edward taking care of me…

"Sure. If you don't mind…" I sniffled.

"_Of course not. It will be my pleasure. I have to get back to work but I'll be over around 6 or 7. Hope you feel better, beautiful." _If I felt good I would have probably swooned at him calling me beautiful.

"Mommy…" Sammy showed up at my bedside. He had gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom.

"Yeah?" I groaned turning over.

"I think…" He started but didn't get to finish because the next thing I knew he was throwing up the liquids I had been trying to keep in him.

"Oh God." I widened my eyes before hopping out of bed and helping Sammy to the bathroom. I didn't care how bad I felt I needed to take care of my son first. "It's okay baby." I told him when he started whimpering.

"I'm sorry, mommy." He cried.

"Don't be. It's alright." I assured him. I cleaned him up before putting him in his bed so I could clean up the mess that he had made from my room to the bathroom. Ever since he woke up the morning before I hadn't really been giving him much to eat. He had been able to keep down soup and crackers so I didn't think I was going to have a problem with him throwing up. Guess I was wrong about that one.

I was surprised that while I was picking up my sons mess that I didn't make a mess myself. I guess over the years my once extremely weak stomach has become a little stronger. When you're a mother a lot of things don't seem to bother you anymore. Like nasty little messes such as the one I was cleaning up.

After cleaning up the mess and changing my sheets I went into Sammy's room to check on him. He was just laying there curled up in a little ball. My heart broke as I saw how bad he was feeling. He coughed and for a second I was afraid he was going to throw up again. Thankfully, he didn't.

"How are you feeling, baby?" I asked as I walked over to him. I let my hand ghost over his forehead but I knew I wouldn't be able to tell.

"Sick." He rasped out. "Are you feeling bad, Mommy?"

"Just a little bit." I sighed sitting down next to him. Truthfully, I was feeling like I had just been hit with a ton of bricks. I was feeling absolutely terrible. "I'm going to get you some medicine." I told him. Sammy nodded and closed his eyes. I kissed his forehead before leaving his room. I made sure to put a bucket and towel next to his bed before I got some medicine in his little body.

After getting Sammy all settled I found myself crawling into my own bed and curling up just like I had seen Sammy do. I shut my tired eyes and the next thing I knew the doorbell was ringing.

I grabbed my blanket and wrapped it around me before getting up and answering the front door. I wasn't feeling any better, honestly I was feeling worse. I could barely keep my eyes open and I felt like my throat was closed.

"Jesus, Bella!" I didn't even have the strength to say hi to Edward. "Come on, let's get you back in bed." Instead of letting me walked he picked me up bridal style and carried to my room. Any other time I would have been beaming at the thought. Right now…I really couldn't have cared less.


	7. Chapter 7

Oh, how I've enjoyed writing this chapter. :) Enjoy and thank you to my reviewers!

Chapter 7 - EPOV

"Jesus, Bella!" The beautiful woman standing in front of me looked like death as she stood there with a quilt wrapped around her tiny body. I quickly walked into the house and picked her up. She was in no condition to be standing. "Come on, let's get you back in bed."

I wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction of her room but eventually I was able to find it. I laid her down. I looked at the nightstand and noticed the thermometer so I went to work on checking her temp. It was 101. 5, which was high but I knew I could manage to get it lower. She looked like she was in pain as I tried to get medicine into her body.

"Sammy…" She tried to say but I stopped her.

"I'll take care of him as well." I promised. I just wanted to make sure she was okay enough before I left her. Within minutes she was fast asleep. I kissed her forehead then went to find Sammy. His room was at the other end of the hall. When I opened the door I found him curled up sleeping. He looked just as bad as his Mom, if not worse. Kye hadn't even looked that bad when I dropped him off at Leah's before I went to work.

I touched my hand to Sammy's forehead hoping to not wake him. He didn't move an inch as I realized he was burning up. I wasn't sure if he had taken anything recently so I went back into Bella's room to ask her. She was still sleeping and woke quickly when I shook her. I didn't want to give Sammy medicine if he had already taken something.

"Hey, when was the last time Sammy took something?" I asked sitting down on the edge of her bed facing her. She blinked a few times before answering me.

"A few hours." She rasped out. "Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine." I assured her. "Go back to sleep, beautiful."

"Beautiful…" She muttered as her eyes closed. I chuckled as she quickly fell back to sleep. Sammy was awake when I walked back into his room. I gathered him in his blankets and brought him into the living room with me since he mentioned he wanted to watch some TV. I was used to sick like boys and them still not wanting to stay in bed despite the fact that they really needed their rest.

As soon as I had Sammy on the couch he snuggled his little body into mine surprising the hell out of me. I looked down at Bella's son. He didn't look much like her but his eyes were all hers. Plus, sometimes he did this facial expression that was all his Mother. I knew that he barely knew his father, well at least from what my ex-wife had told me.

Leah loved to talk about other people. She got off on the shit. I didn't understand why when we were together and I still don't understand to this day. Bella and Embry's relationship was a hot topic for her. When I had found out that Kye had said something to Sammy about Embry, I just knew it was Leah's fault. So, the day I picked our son up from school I went straight over to his Mother's house. Leah had looked surprised to see me. The school hadn't even called her about Kye's fight, which really surprised me. Usually when Kye got in trouble or he got sick or something the school called the both of us. Even if I was Kye's legal guardian and Leah only got him every other weekend, I wanted her involved in his life as much as possible.

I can't say that I'm not angry at Leah for leaving us but I am or I was at first, now it's gotten a lot easier to forgive her for making the right decision. I must admit that the divorce had been her idea. I had been willing to try to make it work, even though we both knew it was over before it even began. At first I thought Kye was better off with us together, but after the past couple of years I've realized things are much better the way they are now. Even if they are difficult at times. Leah and I just weren't meant to be.

Anyhow, when I confronted Leah about talking about Embry and Bella in front of our son, she didn't even deny it. She said she had been on the phone with a friend of hers and Kye had been in the room. Of course our sons mind was like a sponge these days, we couldn't say shit around him unless we were willing to let it be repeated. It wasn't his fault. He got that from his Mother.

I found the remote and turned on cartoons for Sammy. As I was settling in my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was Leah calling.

"Hello?" I answered keeping my voice low since Sammy was slowly drifting off to sleep.

"_Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to come have dinner with Kye and me?" _Lately Leah had taken to being extra nice to me. I wasn't sure what it was, maybe it had to do something with my growing interest in Bella…I'm not sure but I knew it was all an act. I knew Leah better then she knew herself. This wasn't like her and people just don't change that quickly.

"Is he feeling better?" I asked knowing that Kye hadn't been feeling any good when I talked to my Mother before she dropped him off with Leah.

"_He just needed his Mother." _She said. _"I'm making homemade soup for him and have extra…"_

"I'm busy, Leah but kiss Kye for me and tell him I will see him after I get off work tomorrow. Okay?" I sighed.

"_Edward…" _She paused. "_You're at Bella's aren't you?" _Her voice raised.

"Where I am is none of your business, Leah. I'm going to go now…" I said feeling rather annoyed with the woman.

"_She's broken Edward, you can't fix her. You have to let that hero complex of yours go and realize where you belong. With Kye and me…"_

"Don't start this crap, Leah." I said trying my hardest to keep my voice low as to not startled the little boy next to me. "You're the one who ended all of this and you know as well as I do that it was for the best."

"_Just come over, Edward…" _She tried.

"I'm hanging up now, be sure to tell Kye I love him." I said not waiting for an answer and quickly hitting the end button.

This was all new. Leah trying to get me back, which was dumb because she was the one who let me go in the first place. I do agree with her reasons now and I now have reasons of my own. There's no way we would work again. If we didn't work the first time, we won't work the second or how every many other times she thinks we should try.

A few hours later I was starting to feel hungry and Sammy's fever had let up so I went to make him something to eat. Bella startled me when she stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

Even though she was extremely sick, I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. Even though Leah had told me all about Bella's past, I had never actually met her before. Not until that day at the school when we had the conference about our sons. I remember walking into the classroom that day and seeing her for the first time. I couldn't get her off my mind afterwards or for days. I had come up with the plan of getting the boys together just to get to talk to her again. Of course, my plan worked out wonderfully for the boys. They were getting along better then ever.

I remember being nervous as hell when I went over after dark to watch a movie with her. I had let her fall asleep in my lap all the while barely being able to shut my eyes. I actually watched her the entire night, falling asleep only an hour or so before being woken by Jacob Black.

Then I had gathered up everything in me and asked her on a date. I knew she had a past and I knew she was still holding on to her past. I didn't want to push her and I didn't want to make her forget about her past. I just wanted to a part of her present…a part of her future.

The last thing I wanted to do was replace Embry in her life or Sammy's. Those had never been nor will ever be my intentions.

"How are you feeling?" I asked stirring the soup in the pot. It was my Mother's secret chicken soup recipe. She had given it to me the year before when Kye was sick and it had become his favorite meal. I was sworn to secrecy, though and I haven't even uttered a word about the secret ingredients even to my little sister Rosalie who was going to be having a child of her soon. I knew Mom would tell her sooner or later.

"Better." She sighed leaning against the doorframe. "I see Sammy's feeling better." She said.

"His fever is going down greatly. Hopefully he can keep this soup down." I replied.

"Thank you, Edward. You didn't have to come take care of us…but thank you." She did that sexy thing where she bit her lip and looked all shy. I smiled at her then went back to preparing their dinner. They both needed to get something in their stomach's.

It was strange that I missed my son as I watched Sammy sit at the table and eat. It felt weird not having him around since he was usually with me every day of the week. Leah had just taken him so that I could go to work without having to worry about taking him to my Mother's in the morning. I would pick him up after work and have him back at Leah's Saturday morning since she got him on weekends.

Bella barely ate anything before going to take a bath. I cleaned up the kitchen and laid Sammy in front of the TV where he stayed until I was finished. Once Bella was out of the bath I helped her put him in the bath. It felt…normal getting Sammy cleaned and into bed together. It felt a lot more normal then it had been for Leah and I with Kye.

"Where's Kye, Mr. Edward?" Sammy finally asked. I had actually been waiting for him to ask about his best friend all afternoon.

"He's at his Mom's tonight." I told him pulling the covers over his body. He snuggled in and nodded at me. "Goodnight Sammy." I said looking over at Bella and leaving her alone to say goodnight to him as well. I went into the living room and picked up my cell phone. Leah had sent me a few texts saying that we needed to talk. I quickly sent her a text back and said that we could talk when I picked Sammy up the next afternoon.

"I'm going to go bed myself…"Bella spoke softly as she entered the living room.

"I need to head home anyway since I have work in the morning." I nodded slipping my phone in my pocket.

"Thank you…" She blushed.

"My pleasure." I smiled before walking over and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Get some rest. I need you to feel better so we can make up for that date." I smiled before seeing myself out of her house.

I went home to an empty house that night. It was rare and mostly unwanted. I had grown up in a busy house with my two younger siblings and my parent's. Our house was rarely ever quiet and at the time when I lived with them I had always prayed for just some sort of quiet time but now as I sat in my study I realized how much I missed having all of that around me. It was even too quiet with Kye sometimes.

The next morning as I got to work I was greeted by my father. His lips were set in a hard line. I sighed dramatically knowing that he had talked to Leah. Carlisle Cullen was completely Team Leah. He refused to believe that I had tried hard enough to keep my family together. He thought once one was married there was no going back. Good thing my Mother, Esme was much more understanding. She kept him from saying too much most of the time.

"Good Morning, Dad." I nodded taking a sip of my coffee.

"Morning, Edward." He crossed his arms over his chest not taking his eyes of me.

"Alright, what is it?" I said resting my hands on my hips.

"She's trying to get your family back together, the least you could do is listen to her. Edward, I taught you better then to just walk away from them." He said sternly.

"She's only doing this because she knows I'm moving on." I tried to point out.

"But you shouldn't be moving on. You have a responsibility to Leah, son. You promised her forever and you need to see through to that."

"Have you forgotten that Leah's the one who suggested the divorce?" I said feeling annoyed with all of this already.

"I understand that but I think you should…" I suddenly cut him off.

"I don't care right now. I have patients. I'll talk to you later, Dad." I said quickly exiting the break room. I didn't have time for my Dad's thoughts or anything he had to say this morning. I had much more important things to worry about.

Work went by quickly since I was able to completely avoid my father. After work I would usually go visit my Mother for a minute but instead I went straight over to Leah's where Kye was sitting on the couch with ice cream in his lap and smile on his face. I could tell just by a glance that he was feeling 100 times better then he did the previous day.

"Hey, kid." I smiled down at him.

"Hey Dad." He said jumping up and giving me a big hug. I held him to me tightly. I had really missed the kid.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Better." He shrugged as he sat back down on the couch with his bowl.

"Where's your Mother?"

"Cooking dinner." He said already done with talking to me. I kissed the top of his head before making my way through my old house. After the divorce I had left Leah the house and moved about five minutes away from her to a smaller home. This was her dream home, not mine.

I found Leah standing in the kitchen taking something that smelled awful out of the oven. I realized when she slammed it on the stove that it was burnt to a crisp. I couldn't help the chuckle that left my mouth. Leah was terrible at cooking and I knew that no matter how hard she tried she could never get better. It just wasn't her thing.

"Hope you don't mind leftover soup." She mumbled angrily.

"I was just going to take Kye and head to the house, maybe order some pizza." I said leaning against the granite countertop.

"Because that's healthy." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm a little afraid to eat anything you've made." I joked.

"Whatever, Edward." She said annoyed with me. "Do you want some coffee?" She asked nodding towards the coffee pot on the counter. I nodded and went to make my own before joining her at the breakfast table.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" I asked taking a sip of my coffee.

"You know exactly what I want to talk about, Edward." She glared.

"About us?" I raised an eyebrow. "There's nothing to talk about, Leah. We're over. We've been over."

"How come you just won't try? We deserve a second chance, Edward. Kye deserves to have us together…" She whined.

"I thought the same thing as well but I've realized we're a lot better for our son apart. Honestly, Leah we barely get along as it is…we fought constantly when we were together. It wasn't healthy." I explained to her.

"But you're going to take a chance on a woman who will never be emotionally ready for you?" I groaned knowing that Bella was the reason for her changing her mind about us. She didn't love me, she didn't even want to be with me but she didn't want anyone else to have me at the same time.

"It's really none of your business who I decide to see, Leah."

"Actually it is since you'll be bringing whoever it may be around _my _son." She seethed. "I'm his mother, Edward and I hope you know you can never replace me!"

"I don't want to replace you in his life, Leah just like you'll never be able to replace me if you ever decide to date again. Bella and I aren't even serious." I tried to tell her. Even though I knew we weren't serious, I couldn't help but really wish we were. I liked Bella and I wanted so much more with her. I just hoped she wanted more with me as well. I figured I would talk to her about it when everyone was feeling better and we had that second date with the boys.

I stood up from the table and went to get Kye. I was done talking to Leah. She was ridiculous and there was really no need to keep talking about the same thing over again. She followed me as I grabbed his pillow and blanket before grabbing his overnight bag. Kye pouted as I took his hand and led him to my car. He wanted to stay longer. I asked if he wanted to stay the night but he quickly refused. He wanted to stay longer but wanted to sleep in his bed at home.

I waved at Leah before backing out of her driveway. I knew I was making the right decision in not trying again with Leah. It was pointless, when I knew the ending. I knew what would happen and I needed to save both myself and Kye from that.


	8. Chapter 8

_ Enjoy. _

Chapter 8

By the time the weekend arrived Sammy and I were feeling a hundred times better. Sunday afternoon Emily and I took the kids to the beach since it was unusually sunny. As I sat there watching the kids play at the skirts of the water I hoped that we would be doing this a lot when they were off for summer break. Usually during the summer I would only work three days a week instead of five so that I could be home with Sammy and be able to spend time with him, I hoped this summer wouldn't be any different. Maybe we could even include Edward and Kye this year…that would be nice.

I smiled to myself just thinking about Edward Cullen. He was amazing, especially after he took care of my very sick son and I without one complaint.

Speaking of Edward, we had gotten around to texting each other constantly. There wasn't much time in the day when we weren't texting back and forth. It was nice but sometimes I really just wanted to hear his voice so after Sammy was tucked into bed I would call him and we'd talk for a couple of hours. It was nice to have someone like Edward to talk to.

"So, where's your head at?" Emily pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked over at her to find her rubbing her tiny belly and looking at the kids intensely.

"Everywhere." I laughed leaning back in the foldout chair I had brought along. Sammy was running towards me with a huge smile on his face.

"Mom!" He cried before reaching me.

"What's up?" I asked sitting up a little.

"Jacob's jumping off the cliff over there!" He jumped up and down pointing to the cliffs where I could see all of the guys taking turns jumping off. "Can I do it?" He asked with a huge grin on his face.

"No way!" I laughed. "Maybe when you're older but not right now." I added in.

"Fine." He huffed hanging his head then turning around and walking back to the water with the girls.

After Sammy had gone back to the water I sat there watching the guys jump. I could tell that it was Jacob, Sam, Jared, Paul and Quil. They would howl each time before taking their dive. I used to find it cute when they did this but now I just found it annoying. I suddenly started to miss Embry again. I felt like he should have been there jumping with the guys.

"I hate when they do that…" Emily mumbled from next to me. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "That is so dangerous."

"Hey, that's how we became best friends." I giggled as I reminded her.

"I know, I thought it was dangerous then as well." She smiled.

We sat there for another hour or so before the guys joined us for lunch. Minus Jacob of course. He had fled right before the guys joined us, which really confused me. He had been trying to talk to me a few nights before so I couldn't understand why now was any different.

The guys talked non-stop through the lunch. Quil and his wife had just welcomed a little girl the week before. Brenna Rae Ateara. From the pictures Quil showed all of us, she was beautiful. Embry had always wanted a daughter. He wanted to spoil a little girl and have her be a daddy's girl. I thought it was adorable but I also knew how excited he was when he found out we were having a little boy instead.

Jared had recently met a girl in Forks by the name of Kim and he was telling Emily and I all about her. Paul announced his engagement to Rachel, who happened to be Jacob's older half sister. She had lived with her mother for most of her life so I barely knew her. She only moved down to La Push a couple of years ago.

"Alright, can you boys help us get our things in the cars?" Emily asked after cleaning up lunch. The kids were all tired and worn out from our day. Sammy even looked like he could use a nap. I figured he would probably pass out moments after getting in the car.

As I was buckling Sammy in the backseat I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked around and found myself face to face with Jacob Black. I took a shaky breath running my hand through my hair. I glanced over at Sammy who had a large smile on his little face. He quickly unbuckled himself before jumping out of the car and into Jacob's arms.

"I missed you, Jake!" Sammy laughed.

"Missed you too, buddy." Jacob told my son. He kept his eyes on me the entire time. He shifted a little nervously as he sat Sammy back down. I told my son to get back in the car and buckle up before shutting the door.

"What do you want, Jacob?" I asked folding my arms across my chest.

"I've missed you two, Bells. So much…" He tried to reach out for my hand but I quickly jerked it away from him.

"And you couldn't have come by the house any time since you've left? I'm sorry Jacob but I'm not ready to talk to you." I started to walk away but he stopped me.

"Just listen to me!" He yelled out causing all of the guys to come towards us.

"I don't want to listen to you. I want to get my son home so he can take a nap." I spat before quickly making my way to the drivers side. I got in my car to find Sammy looking extremely angry. He pouted as I pulled out of the parking lot asking me why we couldn't stay with Jacob. He didn't understand, so I didn't try to explain any of it to him. All he knew is that Jacob was there and that meant more to him then anything.

Emily called me after I left the beach and told me to just go over to her house. I parked my car in my driveway before walking behind Sammy to Emily and Sam's house. I found the extra key underneath the doormat. Sammy went straight to the living room and turned on the TV. I went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee for myself. I went to join Sammy in the living room when I heard the front door open. Aubrey and Adrian ran inside with Addison quickly following them. Amelia was passed out in Sam's arms and Emily came in last holding the picnic basket. I went over and took it from her bringing it into the kitchen.

"Oh Bella…I thought Jacob had left." Emily said as I sat down at their breakfast table.

"It's fine. I guess I need to talk to him…for Sammy's sake." I sighed resting my head in my hands.

"Well, I think you should do what your heart tells you." With that she walked out of the room.

That night Sammy went to bed without asking me to tuck him in or read him a story. My heart sank at that. After awhile I went into his room and watched him toss and turn. It had been an hour and he was still wide awake.

"Sammy?" I whispered. He didn't turn to look at me. Instead he looked at the opposite wall. I walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "How about if you and I go visit Jake tomorrow at the shop after school." I said. He thought about that for a minute before turning his body around to face me finally.

"Really?" He asked with sleepy eyes.

"Really." I nodded smiling. "If you want to that is…"

"Yeah!" He said loudly. I laughed at his excitement. Sammy missed Jacob. That's all that mattered. I'd do anything to make him happy.

Sammy allowed me to tuck him and read him a book after that. After leaving his room I went into my own and grabbed my cell phone. Edward hadn't been texting me much today but I sent him a quick text telling him I was going to bed. That's when he called.

"_I know you said you were going to bed but I wanted to hear your voice first…" _He really knew how to make me smile.

"I'm happy you called." I laughed softly as I sat down on my bed.

"_How was the beach with everyone?" _He asked. I had invited Edward to join us but he was visiting his parent's earlier so he couldn't make it. It would have been nice to see him without his shirt on though…

"It was good…" I bit my lip contemplating if I should tell him about my run in with Jacob. I decided against it. It wasn't even that big of a deal. "How was your day with your parent's?" I asked instead.

"_Good. I'm sure they would have rather seen Kye though." _He chuckled. We spent the next few minutes talking about our day before staying goodnight. I quickly changed for bed before crawling under the covers and closing my eyes.

I dreamt of Embry that night. Edward wasn't in my dream until the very end. I was standing there looking down at Embry's body when I saw a hand stick out and heard a voice telling me to trust him. The hand and voice belonged to Edward, that's when I woke up.

I was nervous all through the day about seeing and talking to Jacob later. I got off early so that I could pick Sammy up from school myself. He was so excited to see Jacob again, he didn't stop talking about it as we drove through La Push to the auto shop.

After Sammy and I exited the car I took his hand and we walked towards the shop. Jacob met us halfway. He was wiping his hands with a dirty looking towel. It really didn't seem like it was helping much in getting his hands clean. I winced remembering how those stains rarely ever came out of his clothes. Which was the whole reason Jacob refused to let me do his laundry. I had this thing that if a clothing item wasn't spotless then I wouldn't stop washing it until it was.

"Bells." Jacob grinned at met hen looked down at Sammy. "Hey, Sammy." He squatted down to be level with my son. He opened his arms and Sammy released my hand to hug him. He ran into Jacob's arms so hard that he almost knocked the large guy down.

"Sammy misses you." I said biting my bottom lip as Sammy returned to my side. Jacob stood up and gave me a sad smile. I was still angry at him. He shouldn't have just left us like he had. He should have given me more of an explanation then he had…he went about moving out of our house all wrong. I decided right then that I'd let him explain himself for Sammy's sake. Just because I was angry with Jacob didn't mean Sammy had to suffer because of it.

"I was just about to get out of here if you two want to go do something." Jacob suggested.

"How about you and Sammy go do something?" I replied. "Spend some time together."

"That sounds like a great idea." Jacob smiled widely.

"What are we going to do?" My son asked. I kissed his temple before telling Jacob not to have him out too late then left them alone.

I left the two of them and went grocery shopping. I was going to make Sammy's favorite dinner the next night and invite Edward and Kye over to eat with us. I figured Sammy would like seeing Kye and I really didn't mind seeing Edward…Before I was even in the second isle I decided to call Edward. He answered on the first ring.

"Is Kye allergic to anything?" I asked immediately after he said hello.

"_Just Bees. Why?" _Edward asked sounding completely confused.

"I'm just in the grocery store getting dinner for tomorrow night and wanted to know if there were any foods he couldn't eat." I replied.

"_Are you inviting us to dinner?" _I just knew he was smiling as he spoke.

"I am."

"_Then no, there's nothing he's allergic to but I must tell you he hates anything green." _

"Well, it's a good thing Sammy's favorite dinner doesn't call for anything green." I said with a huge smile on my face. I plucked a box of macaroni and cheese off of the shelf and threw it in my basket. "I'll see you two around six tomorrow?"

"_Six sounds great. Can't wait." _Edward said.

"Me either." I whispered as I blushed then hit the end button on my phone. After grocery shopping I went home and put away the things I had bought. I made myself a sandwich for dinner and plopped myself in front of the TV to wait for my son to get home.

It was almost 9 by the time I heard Jacob's truck pull up outside. I was about to ask why they were so late when I saw the huge smile on Sammy's face. I decided to just ask what they did instead. Sammy started talking a hundred miles a minute as he explained to me his evening with Jacob.

"Slow down, baby." I laughed as we walked into the house with Jacob following us.

"Sorry, Mom." He blushed.

"Now tell me about your afternoon a little bit slower." I smiled as I sat down on the ouch and patted the spot next to me. Jacob stood in the doorway watching us instead of joining us on the couch like he used to.

"Well, Jake let me help him fix a car then we went to chuck e cheese!" Sammy said as the excitement burst out of him again. I laughed as he tried to calm himself down. "Then Jake showed me his motorcycle." I frowned at that. Those things were so dangerous, I remember when Embry had one and I absolutely hated the thing.

"He did?" I quirked an eyebrow over at Jacob.

"He said I could ride it when I'm older but I'm too young right now…" Sammy sounded a bit disappointed.

"We'll see." I said taking my eyes away from Jacob and then back to Sammy who proceeded to tell me about the afternoon. I was happy that they spent the day together, I was even happier to see how happy my kid was afterwards.

I made Sammy do his homework before taking a bath. I was about to go tuck him in to bed when I realized Jacob was still there, so I let him do it. Sammy didn't mind, in fact he could barely contain himself with how excited he was that Jacob was tucking him in. I didn't mind as much as I thought I would have.

"I've never seen him that excited." Jacob startled me when he walked into the dining room where I was sitting reading a book. I sat the book down and gave him a small smile. "How was your evening?" He asked sitting down across from me.

"Quiet." I replied with a shrug.

"Bella, I really am sorry for leaving like I did…" Jacob started to explain. "But, I know now that it was the right decision."

"If you say so." I rolled my eyes.

"It's getting late, so I'm going to get out of here. Thanks for letting me spend the day with Sammy, Bells. It means a lot to me to have him back in my life." Jacob said standing back up.

"He wouldn't have been out of it if you had just stayed." I pointed out in a bitter tone. He sighed shaking his head. I expected him to argue with me, instead he walked around and kissed the top of my head.

"Good night, Bella." He said softly before leaving. I took a shaky breath as I heard the front door close. I missed Jacob in our lives just as much as I knew Sammy did.

Tuesday went by slower then usual. Maybe it was because I was anticipating Edward and Kye coming over for dinner. I had told Sammy about it at breakfast and he seemed to be excited about it. I watched the clock the entire day at work, which I knew really wasn't helping the day go by any quicker. I ran out of the hospital as soon as 5 o'clock rolled around. I only had an hour to get home, get Sammy and start on dinner. I was thankful that I had straightened up the house before going to bed the night before, because I sure wouldn't have any time for it before Edward and Kye came over. Knowing Edward he wouldn't be a minute late.

Sammy was outside on Emily and Sam's front lawn when I pulled up in my driveway. I yelled over to him telling him to come home and waved to Sam who was kicking a soccer ball to Aubrey and Adrian. Sammy had disappeared inside before running towards me with his backpack on. I smiled as he ran right past me and to the front door.

"Hurry, Mom. I gotta pee." He groaned as he did this strange dance.

"Don't say pee, Sammy. Say that you have to use the restroom, anything but pee." I said laughing as I opened the door for him. He didn't respond as he made a dash for the bathroom.

I went straight to the kitchen and started to prepare the Sloppy Joe Casserole that Sammy loved so much. It had been Embry's favorite as well, which really didn't surprise me when Sammy absolutely loved it the first time I made it for him. It was a rather simple dish, and would only take half an hour to cook.

It was 5:45 when I went into my bedroom to get myself cleaned up. The Casserole was in the oven and Sammy was sitting on the couch reading a book. I shed my work clothes and put on something comfortable but not trying to look like a bum. I checked myself in the mirror a total of five times before leaving my room. I decided to make some macaroni and cheese while waiting on Edward and Kye to arrive.

"They are here!" Sammy yelled causing me to jump a little. I turned the stove off and set the macaroni aside to cook off before wiping my hands and joining Sammy at the front door. I nodded at him before he opened the door. I smiled as I saw Edward standing there saying something to Kye holding a pie in his hands. Kye was pouting as he walked into the house in front of Edward. I looked at Sammy who just shrugged then followed his new best friend into the living room.

"Hope you two like Sloppy Joe Casserole." I clasped my hands together as Edward and I followed the boys. "I made some macaroni just in case you didn't like it…" I bit my lip nervously.

"Sloppy Joe Casserole sounds good." Edward flashed me a smile. Cue swoon. "Although, I can't say I have ever heard of it."

"It's something my Mother used to make for me growing up and it's Sammy's favorite…" I said leaving out the part about it being Embry's favorite as well. "It's really good."

"I'm sure it's amazing." He said as he reached down and took my hand. He brought it up to his lips and placed a kiss on the top of my hand as his eyes never left mine. "You look beautiful tonight. Thank you for inviting us over."

"No problem." I stuttered out as I stood in awe of the man before me. Could he get any more perfect? "We still have another ten minutes before it's finished. Would you like to help me set the table?" I asked. Edward gave me a crooked smile as he nodded yes. I let a small laugh slip out before making my way to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen I took the pie from Edward and set it on the countertop before getting dishes down from the cabinet. I handed them over to him before getting the silverware. While he sat down the plates I sat the forks and butter knives down.

I was pouring the boys juice when Kye ran into the dining room screaming. Edward and I both dropped what we were doing and rushed towards him. I gasped loudly when I saw the blood gushing down his dark face. I felt faint as I backed away and let Edward deal with the injury.

I could handle most anything but blood. That's the only time my stomach lurched anymore. The smell…the sight…everything about it disgusted me.

"What…what happened?" I asked between breaths.

"I ran into the shelf in Sammy's room." Kye cried as Edward grabbed paper towels and started cleaning Kye up.

"Looks like he'll need a couple of stitches. I have the things at home to fix this right up…" Edward looked disappointed but I assured him it was okay. Kye was more important then dinner. "I'm sorry about this."

"Don't be. Just get him all fixed up." I said following him out the door. Kye was holding one of my older towels to his head as the blood kept flowing from the small cut just at his hairline.

Edward nodded before picking Kye up and taking him out to the car. I sighed deeply as I closed the front door.

"Is Kye okay?" Sammy asked from the couch. I had instructed him to sit there after Kye got hurt. He was swinging his legs back and forth looking down.

"He will be." I said sitting down next to him.

"Mom?"

"Hmmm?" I asked looking down at him.

"We should take Kye and Mr. Edward their dinner. It's getting cold." I couldn't help but smile at Sammy. Then I got to thinking. That was a perfect idea, so I went to work in the kitchen. I packed up the casserole and macaroni then grabbed my keys and told Sammy to get in the car. If Edward couldn't eat dinner at my house then we would bring dinner to him.

The only problem about that was I had no idea where he lived.


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm sorry for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. I've just been lacking inspiration lately. Hopefully, it won't take that long before I get the next chapter out. And for those following my other stories, I hope to have the next chapter's to those out soon as well. :) Enjoy!_

Chapter 9

I decided to just call Edward and tell him that Sammy and I were going to bring dinner to them. He seemed happy as he told me his address. I suddenly got excited as I realized it was the first time that I would be at Edward's house.

I wasn't sure what to expect as I drove onto Edward's street. I knew he was a doctor but I just didn't see Edward as the extremely large home type of person. Of course as I pulled into his circular driveway, I realized I was completely wrong.

"This is Mr. Edward's house?" Sammy asked with wide eyes as he unbuckled himself in the back seat.

"I'm pretty sure it is, buddy." I said as I opened my own door. I got the food from the passenger seat then took Sammy's hand and walked up the steps to the front door.

Before I could ring the doorbell Kye opened the door. He had a bandage on top of his head but was smiling big as he told us to come inside. I chuckled as the boys started talking about the wound and how Kye had to get three stitches.

Kye led us through the foyer and past the living room into the kitchen. Edward was busy setting plates around a table when we walked in. I sat the food on the counter before walking over to him.

"Go wash up, boys." Edward told them as he put the last plate down. When the boys ran to the bathroom Edward walked over and took my hands in his. "I was worried that since our date was messed up again you wouldn't want to try anymore."

"I figured I'd give it one more shot." I smiled loving the warmth of Edward's hands.

"Why are you holding my Daddy's hands?" Kye startled me causing me to yank my hands away from Edward. Edward frowned and was about to say something when I interrupted.

"I hope you guys are hungry." I said instantly changing the subject. Edward had a large dining room table but we ate in the kitchen at the breakfast table. I found out that they rarely ever used the formal dining room. It was something his Mother had insisted he have in case he ever got important company. I had to tease him and ask why Sammy and I weren't important enough. Poor guy didn't know what to say. It only took me a minute to assure him I was only kidding.

The boys ate quietly and happily. Half way through dinner Kye announced that he now had a new favorite meal. Edward told me that Kye changed his favorite meal daily, so I shouldn't get my hopes up. Sammy made sure everyone knew that he liked my Sloppy Joe Casserole the best.

After the boys were finished Edward sent them up to Kye's room to play. I was a little nervous from earlier when Kye busted his head but Edward assured me there was nothing the boys could get hurt on up there.

I tried to help Edward with the dishes but he refused to let me. Instead I went into the kitchen with him and hopped up on his counter to talk to him while he washed them.

"Your house is amazing, Edward." I breathed out as I looked around his kitchen. It was top-notch and I knew that his appliances were probably nothing but the best.

"Thank you." He said smiling at me. "My brother Jasper is an architect and he designed the place. My Mom and sister-in-law decorated."

"They did an awesome job."

"They'll love to hear that." He chuckled turning off the water. He turned and walked towards me. He placed a hand on either side of my leg and leaned in to me. Our noses were touching as he rested one of his hands on my thigh. I gasped at the feeling of his hand through my clothes. I hadn't had a man besides my gynecologist get that close to my lady business in almost four years. "You always smell amazing."

"You too." I replied as I bit down on my bottom lip.

"Can I kiss you?" He was searching for the answer in my eyes. I didn't know what to say. All I could do was nod. I couldn't even fight with myself on the reasons why he shouldn't kiss me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes just waiting to feel his lips on mine.

Of course a loud scream coming from one of the boys made that not happen. Edward apologized before helping me off the counter. I didn't say anything as I followed him out of the kitchen and to where the boys were now fighting over the TV remote.

We ended up putting a movie in. I sat on the end of the couch opposite of Edward with Sammy tucked into my side. Kye was snuggled up to Edward on the other side.

All I could think about throughout the entire movie was the almost kiss with Edward.

I was also hoping that he would want to kiss me again before the end of the night.

"It looks like they are both out." Edward chuckled softly as the ending credits rolled on the screen. I looked down at Sammy and he was softly snoring. Then I looked over at Kye who was in about the same position as my son.

"Yeah we need to get home…" I bit my lower lip and started to get up off of the couch.

"Let me get Kye in bed and I'll help you get him to the car." Edward said as he stood up and lifted Kye. He stepped out of the room before I could protest. I sighed deeply while I brushed my hand through my sons dark hair. I leaned down and kissed the top of his forehead. He sighed in his sleep and shifted a little.

The next thing I knew Edward had returned and was bending over to pick Sammy up. I was nervous that Sammy would wake up but he didn't even budge as Edward started lugging him towards the front door. I grabbed my bag and washed pans before following Edward out to my car.

We didn't say a word as he put Sammy in his seat and buckled him up. I stood away from the car watching him. After he shut the door and looked at Sammy through the window he turned to me.

"I'm happy you came over tonight, Bella." Edward stepped towards me.

"Me too." I smiled shyly.

"Dinner was amazing." He stepped closer.

I didn't say a word as he stepped even closer to me. He looked into my eyes as his hand reached up to cup my cheek. I shut my eyes and waited to feel his lips on my own.

Of course he didn't disappoint.

It was the first time that I had kissed another guy like this. I had shared my first kiss with Embry and my last. This was something all new to me.

At first it felt awkward.

Then all of a sudden it felt amazing and I was the one to deepen the kiss. I suddenly dropped the things I had been holding in my hands and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck.

The kiss lasted a few more moments before Edward pulled away.

"Wow…" He breathed out.

"I know." I returned taking my arms back. Edward leaned down and pecked my lips before telling me good bye. I picked my things up from around my feet and got into my car.

As I pulled away I looked back at Edward's house. He was still standing outside. He gave me a slight wave before I turned around and focused on driving.

Of course that was kind of hard to do after a kiss like that.

The next morning as I was getting Sammy ready for school Jacob called. He wanted to know if he could pick Sammy up after school. I couldn't say no so I told him as long as he had him home between 7 and 8 that night then I didn't mind. Sammy could barely contain himself after I told him.

Edward called me while I was at lunch. I had insane butterflies in my stomach when I saw his name pop up on my caller ID.

"Hello?" I asked biting my lower lip. I sat down at a table in the cafeteria. I wasn't really hungry so I had just grabbed a water and an apple for lunch.

"_Are you at lunch right now?" _Edward asked. I started to nod but then remembered that I was actually on the phone with him. I felt silly as I answered with a quick yes. "_In the cafeteria?" _

"Yeah." I answered not completely understanding what he was getting at.

"_Look up." _Then the line went dead. I looked down at my phone confused then finally looked up. Edward walked through the entrance of the hospital cafeteria with a slight smirk on his gorgeous lips. I couldn't help the smile that rose to my own lips as our eyes met.

He was making me feel like a silly little teenage girl who was experiencing her first crush.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as he reached me.

"Just wanted to visit you at lunch." He shrugged sitting down in the chair next to mine. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as he leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips. The kiss was nothing like the one from the night before. It was sweet, though. "Not happy to see me?" He joked.

"I'm very happy to see you, Edward." I laughed softly. "Just thought you'd be at work today." I shrugged.

"I had today off." He told me. "How's your day been?" Edward reached his hand out and placed it gently on my knee.

Cue the butterflies once again.

"Pretty slow. Nothing big has happened." I told him before taking a bite out of my green apple. "Jacob's picking Sammy up after school today…"

"I thought you two weren't talking?" He looked at me confused.

"We weren't…well we still aren't really but I'm letting him spend some time with Sammy…" I told Edward as I unscrewed the cap to my water bottle.

"Ah." He nodded as he squeezed my knee. "Well, there's something I wanted to talk to you about…" He looked nervous as he spoke. That suddenly made me feel nervous as well. I bit my bottom lip as he went on. "Every summer my family and I spend two weeks in Jacksonville, Florida. And I was wondering if you and Sammy wanted to join us this year?"

I widened my eyes at his question. I wasn't sure how to answer that. Honestly, I enjoyed the idea of going on a vacation with Edward but…for two weeks? That was a long time and was this all a little too soon? I met the guy only a couple of weeks ago and he was already asking me to go on a vacation with him and his family. As far as I knew we weren't even a couple yet.

"I…" I started but he interrupted me.

"You can think about it. I know this might seem a bit rushed but the trip isn't until July." He said as he removed his hand from my knee. He reached across the table and took my hands in his. "Just…think about it okay?"

"Okay." I nodded giving him a slight smile. "I'll think about it."

"Good." He smiled back. "Is that all you're eating?" Edward raised an eyebrow at the half eaten apple.

"I'm not very hungry." I shrugged. Edward looked like he wanted to say something else but instead asked me out to dinner Friday night. I agreed without a second thought. I'd just have to see if Emily could watch Sammy for me. I knew that wouldn't be a problem.

A few minutes later I realized that I needed to get back to work. He kissed my forehead before we parted ways. I smiled at how sweet this guy was.

I had completely forgotten to tell Emily that Jacob was picking Sammy up from school so before I headed back to work I quickly called her. She invited me to dinner but I declined. I decided that since Sammy would be with Jacob I would visit with Billy and Sue. I knew they wouldn't mind me just popping in but I made a mental note to call them after I got off work anyway.

The rest of the day went by fairly easy and boring. I clocked out at 5 and made my call to Billy and Sue. Turned out Sue was over at Leah's so Billy invited me to eat at the diner with him in Forks.

I used to eat there a lot when Charlie was alive. Then when I was pregnant I craved their cheeseburgers and French fries. I would eat one about twice a week, if not more. Jacob used to joke with me back then saying I was addicted and needed rehab. I would growl at him and tell him not to be mean at a pregnant girl. It wasn't nice. Plus, if he wanted to keep his head he'd leave me alone.

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips as I thought of those days.

When I pulled into the parking lot I noticed Billy's truck already there. I climbed out of my car and made my way to the front entrance. When I opened the door I realized how much the place really hadn't changed. It looked exactly the same as it had when I was sixteen.

Billy was sitting towards the back, waving at me. I smiled widely as I made my way towards the table.

"Bella!" He beamed from his wheelchair. When I reached him I bent down and gave him a big hug along with a kiss on the cheek. "How's my girl doing?" He asked.

"I'm doing great, Billy." I told him taking the seat across from him. The waitress came over and took my drink order before walking away. "So, what made you want to come here?" I asked him. Usually we would eat at the place in La Push, it was strange for him to want to eat in Forks.

"Guess I was just missing your dad." Billy sighed. I just nodded before looking down at my menu. "Your Dad was a great guy, Bella. And he didn't love anything more then he loved you." I bit my lip to hold back the tears.

Charlie died from a heart attack when I was seventeen. Only a few months after Renee was killed in a plane crash. That had been such a hard time for me. Embry had been my rock through those months. He was the only reason I had kept going. Sure, I had Billy and Jacob but without Embry I don't think I would have made it though that time.

"He would be so proud of you and Sammy."

"I wish Sammy could have met him. I know he would have loved Charlie…" I said as I decided on what I was going to order. I was going to get a grilled chicken salad. The waitress came back with my tea and took our order.

"So, how are things going with you, Billy?" I asked changing the subject away from Charlie.

"Really good. Seth's talking about moving back here. Sue's over the moon about having her boy back. She can't wait to be able to spoil that baby girl of his." Billy chuckled.

"I bet." I replied with a laugh.

"Jacob tells me you're seeing someone." Billy surprised me moments later. I nearly choked on my tea.

"I…uhm…" I stuttered.

"It's fine, Bella. It's been four years you deserve to move on." Billy tried to assure me.

"I've been on a few dates with Edward Cullen but I'm not sure if we're going to get serious or anything." I shrugged.

It was the truth. I still wasn't sure where our relationship was going. Sure, he asked me to go on a vacation with him and his family but who was I to tell what would happen between us from now till then.

"Embry was like a son to me and I can assure you that he would have wanted you to move on." Billy told me. I just nodded as our food was sat in front of us.

We ended up talking about minimal things through out dinner. Before I knew it, it was almost 7 and I had to get home. I hugged Billy good bye and thanked him for dinner before getting in my car and driving home.

Jacob's truck was in my driveway as I pulled up next to him. He looked angry as I got out of the car.

"Where were you?" He demanded.

"Having dinner with your Dad." I replied bending down to hug my son. Sammy had a bright smile on his face and ice cream dripping down his chin. I knew I would have a tough time at bed time with him eating something so sweet this late.

I walked up to my front door and unlocked the door. I helped Sammy in and sat him at the table to finish his ice cream cone. Jacob stood in the kitchen doorway with his hands on his hips.

"Did you have fun, baby?" I asked my son.

"Yes, Momma!" He beamed.

"Good. Now, finish that so you can start your homework." I told him as I grabbed a rag to wipe his face.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Bella?" Jacob asked. I looked up and nodded at him before handing the rag to Sammy to clean himself up.

I followed Jacob into the living room where he sat down on my couch. I decided to stand.

"Sammy said you went over to Edward's last night." Jacob didn't look at me as he spoke. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow at him. I really didn't understand what his point was.

"And?"

"Why him, Bella?" His question caught me off guard. "Why not me? Am I not good enough for you? Did I do something wrong? Have I been bad with Sammy? What does Edward have that I don't?"

"Jacob…" I started but he stopped me.

"I've spent the past two years in love with you, Bella." I was certainly not expecting that. So, instead of saying anything I just stood there like an idiot with my mouth open. "You can not tell me that you didn't know! I've shown you so many times…I've…"

I still didn't say anything as he spoke. I didn't know how to respond to that.

Truthfully, I really didn't know how Jacob felt about me. I just thought that it was a love like you'd feel for a brother or a sister. Not something more.

"Jacob…" I finally spoke after a few minutes.

"I love you, Bella. I'm** in** love with you. Why can't you love me back?" He didn't give me a chance to say anything as he stormed out of my house.

Sammy rushed into the room at the sound of the front door slamming shut.

"Did Jake leave?" He asked looking upset.

"Uhm, yeah." I nodded still dumbfounded.

I really had no idea how to process what went on with Jacob. I had never felt anything more for him then the love I would feel for a brother. He was the brother I never had, or at least that's how I felt about him. I had no idea he thought of me as more then a sister.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day I went over to the Uley's to pick up Sammy and ended up chatting with Emily while she prepared dinner. I didn't waste a minute in telling her the story of Jacob confessing his love for me. She actually didn't seem too surprised by my revelation. Apparently, everyone around me knew about his feelings. I was the only clueless one, it seemed.

"I've thought of Jacob as my brother ever since we were kids…I've never thought of him…like_ that." _I muttered as I watched Emily peel a potato. "I always thought it was a mutual thing, you know?"

"I'm pretty sure it was until recently." She said not taking her eyes off of her task.

"Two years." I told her as I chewed on my bottom lip. "I have no idea what I'm going to do about this…"

"There really isn't much you can do." Emily pointed out.

"I wish things could go back to the way they were before…" I ran a hand though my hair. I suddenly tasted blood and was a bit confused until I realized that I had practically chewed a hole through my lip. I gagged at the slight taste before grabbing a napkin and pressing it to my newly made wound.

"Edward asked for Sammy and I to go to Jacksonville this summer with him and his family." I blurted out. I'd been contemplating telling Emily about that, but hadn't completely decided until it just came out. Emily stopped peeling the potatoes and looked back at me. I shrugged as I felt a blush creep up on my cheeks. I suddenly felt embarrassed. I'm not even sure why, honestly.

"Bella, that's…that's big!" Emily replied with wide eyes and a huge grin on her face.

"Yeah, almost too big." I muttered.

"You're going, right?" Emily asked.

"I haven't actually decided yet. I don't even know if I could take two weeks off from work…" I said as I bit down on my lip again. I winced in pain knowing that I really had to stop doing that.

Emily sighed and wiped her hands on a towel before motioning me towards the table. I sat down and she sat across from me.

"I've told you before, you deserve to be happy Bella. I can tell that Edward makes you happy, so what's stopping you?" She asked.

"Everything." I sighed putting my head in my hands. "Plus, maybe it's too soon. I've barely known Edward long and now here he is inviting me to go on a trip to Florida with him! Then there's all of this stuff with Jacob. It's not the best time…"

"When will it ever be the best time, Bella? And you need to stop thinking about Jacob and his feelings, because obviously he never thinks about yours." I knew Emily was right. I knew it, but I didn't want to actually admit it out loud.

I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath. I had a lot of thinking to do. I also needed to talk to Sammy about how he felt about me dating Edward. I needed to put Sammy's feelings first. So ultimately all of this was his choice. I knew that I didn't need to base everything on my son, but if he wasn't comfortable with any of this then I needed to stop it ASAP.

Emily went back to cooking dinner after a few minutes as I sat at the table thinking. My head was spinning. Too much to think about.

Sam arrived home an hour later. Emily was just taking the meatloaf out of the oven and I was busy getting the kids washed up for dinner.

Dinner was good, but my mind was elsewhere. I couldn't even focus on what Sammy was saying to me. I hated myself for feeling like I was ignoring my son.

So, I focused my complete attention on him for the rest of the evening. After leaving Sam and Emily's I took him to the park since he didn't have any homework and it was still light out. He wore himself out and fell asleep in the car on the ride home.

After tucking him into bed I let my mind go back to the whole Jacob thing. I realized that I really couldn't do anything about Jacob. I didn't have feelings for him like that. Jacob had been my rock after Embry's death. Besides Sammy he had been pretty much the only person I could rely on for over a year. I didn't trust anyone else. Jacob had become more my brother then anything. I honestly couldn't see him as more then that.

I knew eventually I would have to explain all of that to Jacob. I knew he deserved that much.

As I was pulling on my pajama's my cell phone rang. I smiled wide as I saw Edward's name on the caller ID.

"Hey." I answered.

"_Hello, gorgeous." _He sighed, making my smile just get bigger. I crawled into my warm bed and sat my back against the headboard. _"I didn't wake you, did I?"_

"No, I was just getting ready for bed." I replied. "What are you up to?"

_"Not much. Just got Kye in the bed and thought I would call you."_ He said. "_I also wanted to make sure I didn't mess things up yesterday…" _He started but I quickly interrupted him.

"Edward, you didn't mess anything up. I promise."

"_I know it might seem soon for me to be asking you to go with us…but I know how much Kye would like to have a kid his age with us and I really would love for you to meet my family."_

"I'm still thinking about it. I don't even know if I'll be able to take that long off work." I told him honestly.

"_Oh, I'm sorry I didn't even think about that…" _He sounded defeated.

"I usually only work three days a week during the summer anyway so I'm sure it won't be a big deal to take off for two weeks." I said quickly. "I'll see."

"_Oh okay. Have you told Sammy yet?"_

"I didn't want to mention anything until I decide if we are going or not." I ran a hand through my hair. "But, I'm sure I'll know by this weekend."

"_Ok, good. Are we still on for tomorrow night?" _I had completely forgotten that he had asked me the previous night through text if I would like to have dinner Friday night.

"Of course, Edward. I can't wait for our date." I smiled as the butterflies in my stomach went crazy.

"_Good. Me either." _I could tell he was smiling.

We talked for a few more minutes. Mostly about the boys and our date. It took us five minutes to just say goodbye.

I realized after I hung up the phone with Edward, that I really had genuine feelings for the guy. Feelings that I couldn't hide anymore, feelings that I didn't _want_ to hide anymore.

Friday afternoon I made a quick appearance at Sam and Emily's to give Sammy a hug and kiss before I started to get ready for my date with Edward. He was staying with them overnight since I wasn't sure when I would get home. I promised I'd get him if it wasn't too late but told him I wasn't sure what time so he shouldn't get his hopes up. He didn't seem upset by that. In fact he kissed me on the cheek and told me to have a good night. I made a mental note to talk to him this weekend. Mostly because I had decided that it wouldn't hurt to go on this vacation with Edward and his family. I even talked to my boss. I was able to get those two weeks off but would probably have to work five days instead of three for a couple of weeks during the summer, just to make up for my hours.

"Have fun tonight, Bells." Sam told me as I was headed out of their house. I smiled at him and said thanks before slipping out.

I was having major trouble with deciding what I should wear on the date. I knew we were going to dinner and knowing Edward it was probably somewhere fancy. I finally decided on a simple dress and a pair of flats.

Of course Edward showed up right at 7:30, just as I had finished getting dressed. My breath caught in my throat when I saw him. He was truly a gorgeous guy and tonight he definitely didn't disappoint.

"You look beautiful." He smiled leaving down to kiss my cheek. I blushed and thanked him. I grabbed my purse and locked the house up before following Edward out to his Volvo.

"So, where are we going tonight?" I asked as we were both settled into the Volvo. Edward looked at me with a slight frown to his lips. My stomach sunk as I started to freak out a little bit. I didn't like that look. That look made me think something was wrong.

"I should have asked you first before I told her yes…but my Mother insisted we come over for dinner tonight. I really hope that's alright."

I widened my eyes in a sort of panic. Wow. I wasn't expecting that.

"I can tell them no, if you want me to." He picked up his phone to call her. I thought it over for a minute but quickly told him no.

I knew I would have to meet them sooner or later, I mean I was going on a trip with them after all.

I panicked basically the whole ride to their house in Port Angeles. Edward kept his free hand on my knee, trying to reassure me. He kept saying they would love me and I really had nothing to worry about. I tried to listen to him, I really did.

I'm not even sure if meeting them was really freaking me out or the fact that this whole thing with Edward was actually starting to happen. I was actually, honest to goodness in a relationship with him. Or at least I would be after this. Meeting the parent's was a big deal or that's how I saw it anyway. Then again I hadn't had to meet Embry's parent's since neither of them had been in the picture when I had started dating him.

"Edward?" My shaky voice cut through the silence.

"Yeah?" He glanced at me carefully.

"Are we together?" I said it quickly. "I mean…are we…like…boyfriend and girlfriend or what?" My shaky voice reappeared.

"That's up to you, Bella. I really don't want to rush you into anything but I must admit I would love the idea of calling you my girlfriend." Edward sounded so sure.

For some reason that helped, a lot.

"I would like that." I sighed as I let my hand find his that was still on my knee. I linked our fingers together and Edward squeezed. I smiled over at him and he smiled back.

I just made it official. Edward wasn't rushing me. He would wait but for some reason I didn't want to wait. I wanted to be able to call him mine, even though I was still scared to death about all of this. One thing I was sure of was my feelings for Edward. I liked him, a lot.

It took me a few minutes to remember that I hadn't even talked to Sammy about this. I just really hoped he was okay with this…because now I didn't think I could break up with Edward.

The Cullen's had a rather large home. It was larger then Edward's and that frightened me. I had always been a small house type of girl. Never dreamed of living in a house with more rooms then I needed. In fact the house I lived in now was more then enough for Sammy and I.

"It's going to be okay, they'll adore you." Edward whispered in my ear as we walked out way up the drive. Edward held my hand tightly as we walked up the few steps to their front door. "My Sister, Rosalie and her husband Emmett are going to be joining us. My brother Jasper's wife is ill so they couldn't join us tonight. I'm sure you'll be meeting him soon enough." Edward explained to me as he opened the door. The décor of the house took my breath away. Edward had told me his Mom and sister-in-law were interior decorators, so I figured they had a hand in the amazing work.

Edward held me hand and led me through the large foyer and to the right. We entered a formal living room. An older woman was sitting on a couch knitting while a man sat at the desk. I figured they were his parent's. Then as soon as the woman looked up, I knew. Her bright green eyes gave that much away. Not the mention the shade of her hair was the exact same color as his.

"Edward!" She grinned setting her knitting aside and jumping up quickly from the couch. She greeted her son then looked at me. "And you must be Bella."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen." I smiled as she gave me a tight hug.

"Please, call me Esme!" She was rather chipper. "Carlisle, darling Edward's here!" She yelled loudly at the older man.

"Dad's losing his hearing." Edward whispered in my ear. I widened my eyes at that. I had no idea. "He's always forgetting to wear his hearing-aid, which is why my Mom talks so loudly." He explain. I nodded as Mr. Cullen finally stood up to greet us. He shook his son's hand then looked at me. Edward had many of his father's features.

"Dad, this is Bella. Bella this is my Dad, Carlisle Cullen." Edward introduced in a loud voice.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Cullen." I spoke loudly.

"Esme, will you get my hearing-aid please?" He looked at his wife. Esme gave us a soft smile before she went to get her husband his hearing-aid.

We sat down on a love seat as Carlisle sat across us in a chair. Edward put his hand lightly on my knee causing me to look up at him with a smile.

Moments later Esme returned and we could have a normal conversation with Carlisle without having to yell everything we wanted to say. We still had to talk to a little loud, but it wasn't as bad as before.

We were about to sit down to dinner when Edward's sister and brother-in-law finally showed. I placed that booming voice before I even saw him. As soon as I heard her voice, I just knew that it was the couple from a few weeks ago that I had given an ultrasound to.

"Edward, is your sister pregnant?" I asked looking up at him. He gave me a strange look as he nodded. "I gave her an ultrasound just a few weeks ago." I explained. "Or at least I'm pretty sure it was her…" I bit my lip in my normal manner, waiting to see the couple with my eyes instead of just assuming.

Of course my suspicions were right. They noticed me right away.

"You're the sonogram technician who looked at our baby." His sister, Rosalie, smiled wide as she rubbed her non-existent belly. She was about five weeks along when I gave her the ultra sound and it'd been about three weeks since, so she was around eight or nine weeks. I wasn't sure but I knew she'd be back soon for another ultrasound.

"Hi, I'm Bella." I introduced myself again, offering her a handshake.

Her large husband, Emmett, didn't shake my hand. Instead he gave me a bone crushing hug. Apparently, he was a hugger. I looked at Edward after Emmett had sat me down. He had a frown sat on his lips as he sat his hand on the small of my back. I gave him a reassuring smile, hoping that would help. It seemed to since he leaned over and kissed my temple.

"It's time to eat!" Esme clapped her hands together excitedly.

Dinner was really good. I found myself really enjoying Edward's family. They all seemed like genuinely nice people. I just hoped that meeting his other brother would go just as smoothly as meeting Rosalie had gone.

"They love you." Edward whispered in my ear as we sat waiting on dessert. I glanced over at him with a smile.

"So, Rosalie have you decided if you want to know the sex of the baby?" I asked. Rosalie smiled and put down the glass of water she was drinking out of.

"Emmett and I want to know, just so we can prepare the room and everything." She smiled over at her husband. Emmett beamed. I knew before that they were going to be great parent's but spending time with them tonight I was more then sure that they were going to be great at parenting. "Edward mentioned that you had a son, how old is he?"

"Seven." I replied with a smile as I thought about my son.

"The same age as Kye?"

"Yeah, they are in the same class this year." Edward spoke. "They had a little trouble getting along at first but now they are inseparable."

After dessert we left. I hugged everyone good bye and promised to keep in touch with Rosalie. We had exchanged numbers and I could already feel like I was developing a new friend. It was great, plus I knew she would get along great with Emily.

I was heading towards Edward's car as he stopped me. He pulled me into him and looked down into my eyes with a huge smile on his face.

"You're amazing." He whispered. I giggled. Yeah, a true teenage girl with a crush on a boy for the first time type of giggle.

Edward leaned down and met his lips with mine. I sighed deeply as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I could seriously stand there and kiss him for hours. Edward's arms came around and wrapped around my waist pulling me closer to him.

"I haven't talked to Sammy yet but I did talk to my boss, I'll be able to take the two weeks off in July for the trip to Jacksonville." I informed him after we pulled apart.

"Really?" He asked looking like an excited child.

"Yeah." I nodded. Instead of saying anything Edward leaned down and captured my lips once again.


	11. AN

Hi everyone. I know it's been awhile since I last updated any of my Twilight stories (And I am terribly sorry that there are no new updates for them!), but just the other day I was re-reading this one and started regain an interest in finishing it. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in reading if I did continue. Maybe it will help me want to finish my other Twilight based stories, such as Better Together. Just let me know, and if I get enough of a positive response, then I will continue this one(The Only Exception) (: Thanks.


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